Author's note 1: This is the prompt to the story:
What if… Steve and Danny are captured while in a foreign, not-so-friendly country trying to find and help Doris. Taken to a lab, they are both implanted in the back of the neck with bio-tech that is designed to attach into their brains and act like a truth serum. Before the government officials get a chance to arrive and interrogate them, Catherine breaks them out, but in order to maintain her cover she can only give them instructions on how to escape and must remain behind. While following her maps, and running from security guards and local police, they discover that the implants have an unusual side effect - they're beginning to hear each others' stray thoughts. The telepathy grows stronger the longer the implants are in and beyond that; any time they attempt to leave each others' sides they are gripped with pain and nausea. Now, while contending with getting to the border alive, they also know they have to be within six feet of each other at all times… and just how in the hell do they navigate a telepathic bond that could give away intimate, hidden feelings at any moment?
Author's note 2: So, yes, H50 finally made my mind creative again. Of course I do not own anything in this story but the idea...
Author's note 3: Since I'm not a native speaker, please be gentle, I know it's not perfect... I have found a beta reader now, the wonderful SailorJP, so I updated the first chapter - if there are still mistakes left, they are all mine, never hers.
And thanks for all the lovely reviews!
The sharp pain of a slap in the face woke Steve - or made him conscious again. For a brief moment he was not sure which one it was - but when he opened his eyes he settled for the second guess. A grim face was hovering just inches away from his own then withdrew. "He's awake", a voice with a heavy Spanish accent told someone just out of Steve's view. His vision became clearer and he realized he was in a bare room with only a door and a small window opposite from where he was sitting on a wooden chair. No, from where he was bound to a wooden chair. Fine. Great. Steve blinked one more time, trying to shake the foggy dizziness out of his mind. What had happened? And where was-? Danny. Realization hit him like a truck. Full frontal. Danny. He had been with him, had followed him into this mission...
Steve was already at the airport, ready to board the plane that would bring him closer to his destination in Nicaragua. He shifted his backpack on his shoulder while waiting for the ticket agent to check his ticket when he heard an all-too-familiar voice behind him. The voice sounded pissed, really pissed. "Doing that again, Steven? That Super-SEAL Ninja Stuff? Going out alone, fighting a whole country and playing Rambo? Really?" He turned around and forced a smile on his lips when he saw Danny standing there, hands in his hips and a frown on his face that made Steve feel like a five-year-old that broke the cookie jar. Steve pondered on Danny's words for a second, then shrugged.
"If you want to put it that way ... " He knew that no matter what he said in his defense, Danny would fall into a rant that could go on for hours.
"Oh yes, I want to put it that way!" Danny deliberately ignored the malignant glances of the other passengers standing in line behind Steve. "Because you always get into trouble. You always end up being taken, beaten and almost dying, and then it's me who has to save the day - and your butt." He lifted a hand and cut short whatever Steve wanted to toss in. "I'm not finished here, so shut up." Steve closed his mouth and crossed his arms, not mentioning that he hadn't even gotten one word out since Danny had started. ''Just listen to me for once, okay?" Danny continued, pacing up and down now, not looking at Steve anymore, but everywhere else. "Whatever you plan to do, you shouldn't do it without backup. And by backup I don't mean to just write me a letter and leave me wondering about where and why you left and when you might be back. We've been partners for almost 6 years now, Steve. Don't you trust me? Or is this one of those confidential things again: 'No, I can't tell you because I would have to kill you?' You're leaving me behind with nothing but crap, Steve, and I can tell you that it won't work this time, because I'm coming along." It took a moment for Steve to understand that Danny had finished - and then another for what Danny had just said. He blinked, stared down at his partner who gave him one of his all-too-serious looks.
"You - what?!" He finally managed to get out, only to be interrupted by the woman standing behind him in the line.
"He said he's coming with you, Lover Boy." Steve perked his eyebrows up and turned to face the woman. She returned his glance annoyed. "So please, Mister, could you finish your marital row now and take him with you, please? Because we all want to board the plane!"
"All right. All right." Steve felt heat burn on his cheeks when he saw the other passengers nod in agreement with the woman's words. He turned back to Danny. "So you come with me. But I think you have to take the next plane, because I got the last ticket on this one. "Which was good, he mused. So he could make arrangements for Danny's security before the other man arrived in Nicaragua. Minimizing the danger for his best friend and partner who in fact was a great detective, but not a soldier and much less a SEAL.
"Nu-uh." Danny grinned at him, all sunshine again after the thunderstorm just seconds ago. "I've already checked in. You know, you're not the only person here that has contacts. My luggage is already aboard, too. Since I didn't know where we will end up, I just grabbed a few things. By the way - what is our destination?"
A groan next to him brought Steve back to the here and now. "Danny?" He turned his head and was at the same time relieved and alarmed when he saw his partner bound on a matching wooden chair next to him. He seemed unharmed except for the dark bruise on his left temple. "Danny, you okay?" He still had to make doubly sure, only to be slapped in the face again.
"I am the one to ask the questions here, Commander!" The man behind Steve stepped forward and frowned, then sighed when he saw the determination on Steve's face. "Oh, yes, I know who you and your friend are. This was relatively easy to find out. I know that where-ever you are, trouble is not far away, so I am very sorry to inform you that we do not have the time for politeness and proper introduction. Let's get down to business! I am aware that you are a Navy SEAL and therefore trained to resist any form of torture. I am also aware that your partner is not." The man moved towards Danny and dug his fingers into the blond man's hair, yanking his head up. Danny groaned again, and fear trickled down Steve's neck.
"You don't" –
"I don't what, Commander? Do not touch him? Do not get any information out of him? I see, you think we are animals? Oh, no, you are wrong." The man smirked at Steve and let go of Danny. Steve shot a quick glance to Danny, feeling relieved that the other man was conscious and obviously aware of their situation.
"Not animals? That's right, because animals don't kidnap other animals, right?" Oh yes, Danny was conscious. "Banalities. And not really correct."
The man waved an elegant hand at Danny, silencing him. "We have a much more progressive way to make people answer our questions truthfully." The smile he gave Steve made alarm clocks ring in his head. "Yes, I see you followed me there, Commander." The smile deepened. "Drugs are a much more effective way to find out all about your dirty little secrets. But", he continued after a short break, "since it is very difficult to find the right individual dose - and we are, as I indicated before, pressed for time - we have an advanced solution for this problem." His smile was now similar to a shark face to face with his prey. Steve could feel rather than see or hear how Danny tensed next to him, when the door to his right opened and a slender, tall woman entered. In her hands she held a small tube.
"Alvarez", she nodded towards the man in charge. Alvarez rubbed his hands. "Wonderful. Thank you, Maria", he acknowledged when she handed him the tube and two small objects. "Well, who is volunteering? Who wants to be first?"
He smiled at Steve and Danny, and both men answered in unison: "Me."
"Now, that's sweet." Alvarez laughed. "Heroically sacrificing for the life of the partner, right? Oh, you are so pathetic... Oh well. So I choose, and I take ... Mr. Williams!" He beamed at Danny and then looked to Steve, to take in his reaction.
Steve fought against the cuffs, but of course that fight was futile. "No - get away from him!" He observed Maria filling the tube with one of the objects and went over to Danny. The second man - the one that had slapped Steve - yanked Danny's head forward, bending it down forcefully to his chest. Danny groaned and cursed, tried to lash out to the man, but he had no chance. Steve could hear Danny pant and then groan again in pain when Maria pressed the tube onto his now exposed neck and pushed a button on top of the tube. She lifted the tube, accepting the second object from Alvarez.
When the man behind Danny let go of him, the Detective lifted his head and stared with wide opened eyes at Alvarez. "What is that? What did you inject me with?" His voice was full of fear and anger, and Steve could see how Danny's face lost all color.
Alvarez smiled. "Oh, as I said before, Detective, just a little help to support you in telling me the truth." He nodded to Maria and the other man, and Steve felt the man's heavy hand in his short hair, pulling painfully at it when he forced his head down the same way he had done a moment ago with Danny's. There was a short, intense prick in his neck, and then he was released. Steve ground his teeth and suddenly felt tired.
"What - what else?" he slurred, barely able to lift his head. Alvarez laughed, and Steve felt a jerk at his hands.
"Just something to help you relax and sleep a little bit, so the chip in your neck can go to work. You know, it is so much easier with this kind of technology. You don't have to guess the weight and height, the stamina of a person to find the right dose of the truth serum, you only inject the little nanobot. While both of you will be asleep, the bot will assess how much of the serum your body will need and then begin to insert it. By the same time tomorrow, you will be really eager to answer any question I have. Have a good night, gentlemen!"
