Captured!
Author's Notes: Some of the ideas I borrowed again from Star Trek, particularly the device I have Dr. Mindbender use when he "interrogates" Pathfinder. And by the use of quotes, you probably know that I really mean torture. So if that is something that bothers you, you might want to hit the Back button now.
"Ah, Pathfinder, it's so nice to see you again." Cobra Commander hissed at him sarcastically as the Viper troops brought him forcefully into the Terrordrome's command center.
"Well, if I knew I was being invited to this party, I'd have brought the snacks." Pathfinder replied.
"Your impudence will do you little good!" Cobra Commander snapped as he back-handed him across the face. "You've been a thorn in my side for far too long. But NO MORE! Now I have you as my prisoner, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it!"
"Don't hold your breath shithead!" Pathfinder retorted. "The Joes will come for me, you can bet on it!"
"Then it will be a fool's errand, because if you do not co-operate, you will be dead by the time they get here!" Cobra Commander sneered. "However, there is a way to spare your life."
"Oh really? And how's that? Or are you just blowing smoke up my ass?" Cobra Commander grabbed Pathfinder by the collar.
"You are going to tell me why GI Joe was snooping around earlier in India."
"No reason. We were just enjoying the outdoors."
"In a Conquest? Yes, we found the wreckage. Don't bother trying to lie to me about it, swamp rat!"
"The view of the jungle is lovely from up top?" Pathfinder quipped. Cobra Commander punched him in the face. This time, blood started to trickle down from Pathfinder's nose.
"Tell me why GI Joe was snooping around!" Cobra Commander growled. "Are they looking for Dr. Mulaney?!"
"Come a little closer, and I'll tell you." Pathfinder replied, grinning slightly. As Cobra Commander leaned forward, expecting him to whisper the answer, Pathfinder spat in his face. "Shove it up your ass!" Spit ran down his helmet.
"You son of bitch!" Cobra Commander punched Pathfinder hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and he fell to the floor. "You need a remedial lesson in respect! Take him to Dr. Mindbender!" He ordered the Vipers as he wiped the spit off his helmet. They yanked Pathfinder up off the floor, dragging him out of the command center. Pathfinder had never met Dr. Mindbender before, but he had heard the numerous horror stories from the other Joes about him. "When he is through with you, you'll wish you'd have more co-operative!" Cobra Commander yelled as the Vipers led Pathfinder away.
"So, you must be the one they call Pathfinder. I've heard so much about you." Dr. Mindbender said with disdain as the Vipers brought him into an interrogation chamber. "It's nice to finally meet in person."
"The feeling is definitely not mutual." Pathfinder replied sarcastically.
"Since you refuse to co-operate with the Commander, I will have to change that."
"I doubt it. I will never co-operate with you assholes."
"You just don't get it do you? Any resistance you give will only be met with the swiftest of punishments I can think of. Any of them could be the one that kills you." Dr. Mindbender snarled.
"Bring it on. It's a chance I'll have to take."
"Very well, gamble with your life. Meanwhile, I will enjoy watching you suffer." Dr. Mindbender grabbed what looked like a long metal rod with a pronged end on it. The prongs were bent inward.
"Is that supposed to scare me?" Pathfinder scoffed.
"After you see what I can do with this, you won't have so much bravado. Strip him!" Dr. Mindbender ordered the Vipers who had been holding him.
"What the hell?!" Pathfinder tried to wriggle free as they started to pull off his vest and tear his shirt off.
"I've found that this device I created gets the desired effect on bare skin." Pathfinder continued to struggle, but the Vipers overpowered him. They pulled off his boots, then his pants, and finally as an added humiliation, his underwear. As the Vipers held his arms behind his back when they pulled him up from the ground, there was no way for Pathfinder to cover himself between his legs. "Tie him to the chair." Dr. Mindbender ordered. They forced Pathfinder into the chair, trying his arms behind his back, and his ankles to the front chair legs, naked, exposed and vulnerable.
"What kind of sick shit is this?!" He demanded.
"Just a little psychological humiliation." Dr. Mindbender replied with a twisted grin.
"Taking your inspiration from your porn film stash?"
"Insolent bitch!" Dr. Mindbender pressed the pronged end of the device against Pathfinder's chest. He winced as he felt a searing pain course through his body. "Perhaps that little demonstration will do away with your sarcasm. That was the lowest level. I have ten of them built into this, what I like to call the Pain Stick. I've found it very useful in disciplining troops and also, torturing prisoners." He propped the other end under Pathfinder's chin, holding up his face. "Now you are going to tell me why GI Joe was snooping around in India earlier."
"And if I don't?" Pathfinder asked.
"I will increase the level on the Pain Stick each time you do not give me a satisfactory answer to my questions. So, why was GI Joe snooping around in India?"
"Code Name, Pathfinder. Rank, Staff Sergeant. Serial number Zero Four Zero, Nine Eight One Two, Juliet Alpha Four One." Pathfinder replied, using a response tactic learned in the event of being captured and interrogated by enemy forces. Dr. Mindbender upped the level of pain on the Pain Stick and jabbed it forcefully into Pathfinder's chest near the center. His fingers and toes curled in response to the increased pain he felt throughout his body. Pathfinder tried hard not to give Dr. Mindbender the satisfaction that it was starting to get to him.
Meanwhile, a rescue operation had been planned out and now a team of GI Joes were on their way to save Pathfinder. Ambush was on one of the Tomahawks, along with Flint. "Uh, Flint, about what I had said to you earlier. I want to apologize. Pathfinder is like a brother to me, so, I guess I kinda lost my temper there." Ambush said.
"I know, and I understand. I won't hold it against you, but next time, I will have you put on report." Flint replied.
"Don't worry, there won't be a next time."
"Tell me why GI Joe was in India." Dr. Mindbender demanded, his impatience increasing. "Were they looking for Dr. Mulaney?"
"Code Name, Pathfinder. Rank, Staff Sergeant. Serial Number Zero Four Zero, Nine Eight One Two, Juliet Alpha Four One." Pathfinder kept on repeating. Dr. Mindbender flipped the switch, the pain level now up to five. Pathfinder screamed in agony as the Pain Stick was jabbed against his skin, making him feel like his entire body was being immersed in boiling oil. Sweat was beginning to bead down his forehead. It was becoming a struggle for Pathfinder to continue to take it. Can't, let him, win, he thought with a waning determination.
"I can keep this up all day." Dr. Mindbender said, glaring, attempting to further erode Pathfinder's confidence. "Was GI Joe looking for Dr. Mulaney?"
"Code Name, Pathfinder. Rank, Staff Sergeant. Serial Number Zero Four Zero, Nine Eight One Two, Juliet Alpha Four One." His decreasing bravado was starting to show in his voice. The level on the Pain Stick got turned up to six, and Pathfinder's screams filled the room as Dr. Mindbender jabbed him again.
"I will continue this until you tell me what I want to know. Your resistance is futile." He said. Pathfinder looked up at him.
"Never."
"Then you are a stubborn fool." Dr. Mindbender sneered.
"And you're an asshole." Pathfinder retorted. "Or, perhaps you already knew that."
"You little..." He turned up the level to seven and jabbed Pathfinder again. His anguished screams got louder. "Had enough?"
"Was that, supposed to be, a trick question?" Pathfinder still managed to quip in between breaths. The pain was zapping his energy.
"Tell me if GI Joe was looking for Dr. Mulaney!"
"Code Name, Pathfinder. Rank, Staff Sergeant. Serial Number Zero Four Zero, Nine Eight One Two, Juliet Alpha Four One." The pain level got bumped up to eight, and Pathfinder writhed in the chair, screaming as he got jabbed again. By now, it felt like he was in a pool of molten lava, and he lost consciousness. Dr. Mindbender was going to wake him back up, then untie him and take him to the Brain Wave Scanner when the proximity alarm blared throughout the base.
"BATTLE STATIONS!" Cobra Commander's screeches echoed on the Terrordrome's PA system.
"Blast!" Dr. Mindbender grabbed his rifle. "Well, I may not have killed you or put you through my Brain Wave Scanner, but maybe I can waste a few of your friends!" He ran off, leaving Pathfinder tied to the chair, still unconscious.
While the GI Joe rescue team and the Cobra forces were keeping themselves occupied battling each other senseless, that gave Ambush and Gung-Ho a chance to sneak into the Terrordrome unnoticed. They searched every room while at the same time, keeping a look out for Viper troops that may still be in the building. Eventually they found the interrogation chamber that Pathfinder had been taken to. "Oh my god." Ambush rushed over to him, thinking that he was dead. He touched his neck, and heaved a huge sigh of relief when he felt a pulse.
"Is he...?" Gung-Ho asked hesitantly.
"No he's still alive, thank god." Ambush replied.
"Why the hell did they take his clothes off?" Then they saw the red marks on his body, left from where Dr. Mindbender jabbed him with the Pain Stick, and the caked blood from when Cobra Commander had hit him earlier. "What the fuck did those creeps do to him?"
"I don't know, and when I find out, there will be hell to pay." Ambush growled as he pulled out a blanket from his backpack and covered Pathfinder up with it as Gung-Ho untied him.
"I'll carry him back to the Tomahawk." Gung-Ho told Ambush. They could hear Pathfinder mumbling incoherently as Gung-Ho gently slung him over his shoulder, covered with the blanket. Ambush found Pathfinder's clothes and put them into his backpack, then they left the room. That was when Dr Mindbender caught them moments later.
"And just where do think you're going with my prisoner?" He snarled, his rifle pointed at them.
"He's no one's prisoner!" Gung-Ho yelled as he fired his rifle at him. Dr. Mindbender ducked behind a corner as the bullets whizzed past him.
"You'll pay for that GI Joe scum!" He fired back as Gung-Ho took off, so that he could get Pathfinder to safety.
"Cover me Ambush! I gotta get Pathfinder outta this Viper pit!" He zig-zagged as he ran to avoid the bullets. "Holy shit!" He yelped as he felt one of them graze his arm.
"Don't worry Gung-Ho! I got this piece of shit under control!" Ambush kept Dr. Mindbender occupied as Gung-Ho managed to away, getting Pathfinder back to the Tomahawk where Lifeline and Stretcher were waiting to provide medical aid. "It's just you and me, fucker!" Ambush sneered. The both of them continued to exchange gunfire.
"Foolish little pissant! You will soon learn that it is futile to go through all this trouble for just one man!" A couple Vipers ran past them, rambling something about running out of ammunition. "Get back here and fight you idiots!" Dr. Mindbender ordered them.
"No way!"
"You're on your own!"
"Cowards!" Dr. Mindbender yelled.
"Ha! It seems like we're the ones winning!" Ambush crowed, gloating. "Our so-called futility will be worth it!" He fired his gun. "Especially, when I get my revenge!" One of the bullets hit Dr. Mindbender in the arm. He screamed, his rifle clattering to the floor. That gave Ambush the chance to jump him. He rushed at and tackled Dr. Mindbender, the both of them struggling as they rolled around on the floor. Seconds later, Ambush got Dr. Mindbender onto his back. "This one's for Pathfinder!" He punched him in the jaw. "Oh yeah, and this one's for Gung-Ho!" Ambush landed an uppercut to Dr. Mindbender on the chin, knocking him out. He got up, picked up his rifle and aimed it at him, very tempted to shoot him. But Dr. Mindbender was unarmed, and unconscious, and Ambush knew that GI Joes do not shoot anyone who is unarmed, even if he is the enemy. "This is for me." Ambush said, then he spat on Dr. Mindbender. He left and went to meet up with Gung-Ho and the rest of the team.
Ambush and Gung-Ho were on the Tomahawk with Lifeline and Stretcher as they tended to Pathfinder while he lay unconscious on the seats in the back. Lifeline removed the blanket and was surprised to find that he was naked. "Where are his clothes?"
"I have them in my bag." Ambush replied. "Gung-Ho and I found Pathfinder like that. For some sick, twisted reason, those snake bastards stripped him."
"Look at those red welts. It's almost like they burned him with a cigarette." Stretcher said.
"Except, this was no cigarette. The circumference is much bigger." Lifeline added as he got out the alcohol to clean up Pathfinder's wounds, to prevent them from getting infected. He was about to apply it when Pathfinder suddenly regained consciousness.
"What's, going on?" He asked, somewhat disoriented. "Where am I?" Pathfinder sat up with a start when he saw Lifeline with the bottle of alcohol and the cotton swabs.
"It's okay. You're safe now." He reassured him. "I just want to look over your wounds."
"No." Pathfinder got up, shaking his head. "No! Don't touch me!"
"Hey, buddy, calm down." Ambush said. "Lifeline and Stretcher just want to make sure you're not seriously hurt."
"No!" Pathfinder repeated. "No! Where are my clothes?" Pathfinder tried to cover himself with the blanket.
"They're in my bag."
"Give them to me."
"Pathfinder, just let us check your injuries first." Stretcher told him, putting his hand on his shoulder.
"No!" Pathfinder smacked his hand away. "I just want my clothes back! Can't this wait 'til we get back to headquarters?!"
"Pathfinder-"
"Leave me alone!" He snapped. "Ow!" Pathfinder winced as Lifeline jabbed him with a needle. "You, are...so...dead." He barely had time to say as he lapsed back into unconsciousness. The needle had contained a fast-acting sedative. Stretcher scowled at Lifeline as they laid Pathfinder back onto the seats.
"What? We can't risk having him freak out in here." Lifeline said.
"Maybe so, but we don't know what those assholes did to him. He was obviously freaked out for a reason." Stretcher replied.
"Yeah, I know. I'll have Psyche-Out notified about it."
The next day, Flint went down to the sick-bay to see how Pathfinder was doing. "How is he holding up, Lifeline?" He asked.
"Physically, Pathfinder will be fine. Luckily he wasn't seriously injured." Lifeline replied. "But psychologically, that's another story."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, we had him kept overnight for observation. It was under the pretext of making sure there was nothing seriously wrong physically, but it was really due to the intense reaction Stretcher and I got from him when we tried to treat his wounds on the Tomahawk yesterday. It's a good thing we did, otherwise we might not have noticed that anything was wrong."
"Is it something that I should know about?" Flint asked.
"Not necessarily. I was just on my way to meet with Psyche-Out so I could ask him about bumping Pathfinder to the head of the line for his yearly psych-eval."
"Is it alright if I can visit for a few minutes?"
"Sure."
"Thanks" Flint replied as Lifeline left to go talk with Psyche-Out. He went in and saw Pathfinder lying in bed, his hat draped over his eyes. "Hey." He tapped him on the arm.
"Flint?" Pathfinder lifted his hat off his eyes and sat up when he saw him. "What are you doing here?"
"I just stopped by to see how your recovery is coming along, and, I also brought this." Flint held up a plate with a slice of pie on it. "Roadblock had made some Key Lime Pie for dessert, and I figured you might want a piece."
"Oh, okay. Thanks Flint." Pathfinder took the plate from him. "How did you know I like Key Lime Pie?"
"You're from Florida right? Key West, if I recall?"
"Yeah. In fact, my Mama would often make Key Lime Pie for dessert." Pathfinder took a bite. "Mmm, tell Roadblock, this is like how she used to make it."
"I'll be sure to let him know." Flint said with a slight chuckle. He cleared his throat. "Also, I brought it as sort of a, peace offering."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. I want to apologize for my behaviour in the mess hall at breakfast yesterday."
"You don't have to apologize, Flint." Pathfinder told him.
"No, I do. Besides, General Hawk was right. I should know better. It's because, I was jealous, and I let it get to me."
"Yeah, I know. And I'm sure Lady Jaye has probably told you this, but I'm going to say it anyway. You have nothing to worry about."
"She has told me that before."
"She's loyal to you Flint, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I wouldn't stand a chance, to be honest." Pathfinder said.
"Why would you think that?"
"Well, you're college educated, like she is. I joined the Army right after I got out of my senior year in High School."
"If a woman only cared about a guy's education level, then she's the one with the problem. Besides, if you really must know, Lady Jaye hated me at first."
"She did?"
"Yeah, she really did. It took a lot for me to win her over." Flint replied. "So, I guess you could say that, my college educated background didn't really help."
"I guess not." Pathfinder sighed. "Well, since you've been honest about that, perhaps I should be honest about this too. A while ago, I was attracted to Lady Jaye." He admitted.
"You, you were?"
"And, I still am, somewhat. If you weren't around, I would be the one asking her out. But I respect you Flint. There are boundaries that I never cross. I just hope that you'll at least, allow me to be her friend."
"I don't pick Lady Jaye's friends for her. Just my own." Flint replied as they shook hands, finally putting aside their differences for good.
The End