Summer 2007 Alphabet challenge at the Numb3rs Forum. Sequel to W is for Who Dares Wins. AU, after Janus List. This is number 24! Q is for Quagmire is the 1st in the series. There will be no further updates to this piece.
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Nova - An explosive situation (figuratively)
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"Don's signal was cut off! He was saying something about the control room," Fiona swiveled sharply in her chair when she turned to tell Steele.
Steele tensed then turned to the tech, "What happened to the visual?"
"Working on it," the tech muttered to himself as he worked on the signal. "The silo must be blocking the signal." A few minutes later fuzzy pictures appeared, one from Don's viewpoint, the other from Sean's. They were looking down the silo and the swarming guards were being picked off.
"They've been discovered. And we don't know if the missiles have been disarmed," Steele said grimly. "Luchenko must have slipped up somewhere. Fiona," he turned quickly to her, "See what you can scrounge up in terms of transportation from Petropavlovsk. Maybe the Navy has something in the Pacific Ocean close to Avacha Bay."
Fiona nodded and picked up the phone.
Steele cursed, "We've lost visual again!" The last visual had been of the two climbing back down the silo.
"Why are they climbing back down the silo?" Fiona asked in alarm.
"The guards are searching outside," Steele said grimly. He tried not to think about what would happen if the two men ran into guards on the inside. "What did the Navy say?"
"They're sending the USS Pegasus close to Avacha Bay, but that's all they're willing to promise."
Steele scowled, that meant no rescuers from the Navy into Petropavlovsk. Somehow, the two would have to make their way from the missile site to Avacha Bay, then find a boat to carry them to the Pegasus.
"I have a signal from Sainte Antoine, sir," the tech spoke up suddenly. "They've disarmed the guidance systems, sir."
"Systems? Plural?" Steele looked astonished.
"Apparently sir," the tech focused on another message that was coming in. "Sir, I have a report from the Pentagon of missiles arming at Petropavlovsk about fifteen minutes ago, but they spontaneously disarmed shortly after."
Steele was silent, his forehead creased in a puzzled frown.
"Does it matter?" Fiona could see him trying to figure out why it would arm then disarm. "As long as they're disarmed." And Luke is safe, Fiona sent a silent prayer of thanks at the news that the missiles had been disarmed at Sainte Antoine.
"No, I suppose not," Steele looked at the screens again. "Are we getting anything from anyone?"
"I'm sorry, sir," the tech muttered. "But the missile silos seem to be jamming our signals. We've lost signals from both teams."
"That means they're on their own," Steele cursed the circumstances. "Alert the submarine."
The tech nodded and went back to work.
--
"I can't believe you led us into a meat locker!" Sean spun on Don in disgust.
"I can't believe you followed," Don retorted, equally frustrated.
"Alright, alright, we can get out of this," Sean muttered to himself. He tried to raise Steele on the communicator. "The signal must be jammed in here." He glanced around, grateful that there was at least some light, and grateful that they still had their parkas with them. He had thought about shedding them earlier, but the Russians had kept the silo cool enough to where it hadn't bothered him much to have it on.
"That's optimistic. Who do you think we are, MacGyver?" Don scowled at Sean. Then his eyes narrowed in thought.
"MacGyver," Sean said thoughtfully.
"Yeah," Don said equally thoughtfully, "Didn't he get out of a meat locker?"
"Yeah, in the pilot episode," Sean said absently. He began to look around in earnest.
Don chuckled, "I wouldn't have pegged you for a MacGyver fan."
Laughing now, Sean replied, "Or you. Do you remember much about that episode?"
"Like I saw it yesterday," Don told him dryly. "You?"
"Same."
They looked at each other and burst into laughter. Neither could believe that they'd found something in common.
"Now to find out if the writers knew what they were talking about," Sean said dryly.
"Charlie told me that episode was sound," Don looked at the light bulb. "He said they weren't always, but that one was. Well, we have a light bulb."
"We sure do. Now we need a meat hook."
"Well, since it's a meat locker, we have a few of those," Don said dryly. He grunted as he lifted a side of what looked like beef off the bar. He raised an eyebrow, "Grab one. You don't think I'm going to unscrew the bolts on this door all by myself?"
"MacGyver did," Sean was grinning, but he did the same and got himself a meat hook off the bar.
"MacGyver had a film crew to unscrew all the bolts but the one they had to film him unscrewing," Don retorted.
Laughing now, Sean slipped the eye of the meat hook over one of the two bolts at the top of the door handle and worked on unscrewing it.
"Don't put my eye out," Don grumbled as he worked on unscrewing one of the bolts below the door handle.
"You just watch out for the family jewels," Sean retorted when the meat hook Don was using slipped and Sean just barely got out of the way.
Don grinned at Sean's narrowed gaze. "That wasn't on purpose. I swear."
"Uh-huh."
They finally got the bolts off the door handle and removed it.
"Cardboard box," Don said, eying the door handle they removed with some wonder.
"One cardboard box coming up," Sean said, tearing the side of a cardboard box and rolled it into a funnel. "Find a chunk of ice?"
Don scowled as he looked around, "Lots of ice but not a chunk of it anywhere."
"It's probably best. Might take less time if it was little bits of ice instead of a big chunk. Here grab a piece of cardboard. I'll help you scrape some ice."
When they finally had enough ice scraped together, they turned their attention back to the door.
"We need a long pipe," Don said.
"Right," Sean sighed. "I can't reach the ceiling; I guess you'll have to stand on my shoulders." He crouched so Don could get on his shoulders and then tried to stand up.
Don scowled as he struggled to balance on Sean's shoulders, "Stop moving!"
"You should try being the one down here," Sean panted with the effort. "You need to lose some weight!"
With a great deal of grunting, Don finally pulled a pipe off the ceiling. He dropped from Sean's shoulders before Sean got back fully into a crouch. "Glad that's over!"
Sean rolled his eyes. "Good thing the light bulb's a lot lower than the ceiling."
"Yeah, no kidding," Don got up and curled the cardboard back into a funnel and stuck it into the hole where the door handle used to be. Then he guided one end of the pipe into the funnel. "Think it'll hold on its own?"
"I hope so; I'm going to need help spooning ice to the light bulb."
Carefully, they melted the ice and watched the water drip into the hole.
They sat down with a sigh when they finally melted all the ice, and waited.
"How long do you figure it takes for the ice to refreeze?" Don asked, dropping onto a cardboard box with a sigh of relief.
"Don't know. They didn't say in the episode," Sean eyed the door glumly as he did the same.
"I hope it doesn't get any colder, I'm not getting any closer to you than I can help."
Sean grinned, "Don't worry, I prefer women. I like their softness and their curves."
Don rolled his eyes. It was going to be a long wait for the water to refreeze.
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Luke was silent when the soldiers tied his hands behind his back, then his eyes narrowed when they looped the rope around his neck.
Jiang laughed softly, "Yes, the more you struggle to get your hands loose, the more the noose around your neck will tighten. Ingenious, no?" He circled Luke to check the soldiers' work, and gave a final tug on the noose. He laughed again when Colby struggled against the soldiers who were holding him. "Relax, my friend, it will be your turn soon."
When Colby continued to struggle against the soldiers, Luke gave a slight shake of his head. Finally, Colby stopped struggling, but he gave Jiang a cold, angry glare.
"This is much better than I had anticipated, Master Assassin," Jiang almost cooed to Luke. "You care about this man, and he cares about you. I will enjoy practicing my techniques on him while you watch." He clapped his hands. "Strip him, and manacle him to the board."
The long board was actually made up of two separate boards that met at one end. The two pairs of manacles were on opposite ends of the long board. The manacles on one end were close together. On the other end, the manacles were further apart, plus it had an additional larger metal band on one end, in between those manacles. The soldiers pushed Colby against the board once they stripped off his shirt and his pants, and slipped the manacles on his feet and hands. The center larger metal band went around his neck. Colby's eyes narrowed as the manacles were tightened close against his wrists, neck and ankles.
Jiang smiled, "It's most enjoyable when the subject resist and holds out. But I always win the battle." He glanced over to Luke, who had remained still.
Colby flicked a quick glance at Luke at the same time. He noticed that Luke's hands had not been still, but he couldn't quite tell what he was doing. But he did notice that Luke's eyes had gone flat and dark, and he focused on those eyes. He knew he was in for some torture, and while he'd had some training against it, he wasn't sure how long he could really hold out.
Just barely, he held back a flinch of disgust as Jiang ran a caressing hand down his torso.
"Such a fine specimen of a man," Jiang murmured almost lovingly. "I shall enjoy this." He waved the soldiers out. "But I shall enjoy this alone."
When the soldiers left, he turned a crank.
"Mmmph!" Colby gritted his teeth as he felt the boards separate and the pressure on the manacles increase. He realized then that Jiang was stretching him. The manacles were beginning to cut into his flesh. Jiang turned the crank another notch and Colby grunted with the effort not to give in to the pain. Again he focused on Luke's eyes.
"Very good," Jiang said in delight, "You're fighting the pain. I am most delighted with this turn of events." He turned to gloat at Luke.
Colby realized that Jiang had not noticed the difference in Luke, nor did he notice that Luke had been working on loosening his bonds around his wrists. Luke's stillness had Jiang fooled. But in focusing on Luke, he didn't notice Jiang's next move. When Colby saw the flicker in Luke's eyes, it was almost too late for him to brace for the blow.
"Unghhh!" Colby moaned before he cut it off with an effort. Jiang had used a thick padded stick and slammed it into his solar plexus. A blow like that while he was stretched out was far more painful than Colby had ever imagined. He gasped for breath and wondered if a rib had also been broken. Then he grunted with the effort of controlling himself from crying out when Jiang dealt a blow against each of his knees.
"I will not leave marks," Jiang told Luke, "It is not my way." He turned back to smile almost lovingly at Colby. He came close, face to face with Colby.
Colby met his eyes with determination, ignoring the Jiang's hands as they slid up his body. "Anggh!" he just managed to bite off the cry of pain. Jiang had dislocated his left shoulder.
"One shoulder at a time," Jiang whispered softly into Colby's ear, as he pressed against the dislocated shoulder. He laughed when Colby struggled not to cry out in pain. "Excellent! Most excellent, indeed! I... arhhh!"
It was all Colby could do to open his eyes, but when he did, he saw Luke bending over a supine Jiang, tying him up.
"Is he... unconscious?" Colby whispered.
"Yes," Luke looked up at Colby, his eyes flat and dark, but his voice curiously gentle. "I'm going to get you down, son. Easy," he said softly. "I'm going to release the crank first."
Colby gasped in relief when the pressure on hands, neck and ankles eased.
"This is going to be the painful part," Luke murmured with regret. "Hold on, I'm going to put the ball back in its joint." With a quick motion, Luke popped Colby's shoulder back its socket, wincing when Colby cried out with the pain. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Carefully, Luke loosened the manacles, managing to do it so Colby was draped over Luke as each manacle came loose. Gently, he laid Colby down on the floor to check the extent of the damage.
"There's some bleeding where the manacles cut into the flesh. I'll find something for it in a minute. I think you've got a broken rib. I'll have to find some bandages to wrap you tight. I'll be right back."
It's amazing that those deadly hands could be so gentle. Colby barely had time for that thought before Luke was back.
"Jiang had some ointment in the cabinet. I don't think it'll sting." Gently, Luke applied the ointment on the bleeding flesh. "Can you sit up for a minute? I need to tie this bandage tight around your ribs, keep it immobile."
"Yeah. Help me up," Colby croaked out. "I just need a minute. I've been in worse beatings."
Luke didn't reply, but he knew that the torture would be worse than any fight Colby would ever get into. It was the helplessness that ate away at the reserves of strength. He tried to prop Colby up against the board but Colby fought him.
"Not there!"
"Alright, alright," Luke soothed him, kicking himself for not thinking of the implications. He moved Colby over to the wall and propped him up there. "Try to stay still," he murmured as he wrapped the bandage as tightly as he could around Colby's torso. "I need to get some clothes on you. Help me as much as you can, alright?"
Colby nodded, wheezing a little. Between the two of them, they managed to get Colby dressed.
By that time, Jiang had regained consciousness. "You will never get away."
Luke turned back to him, and said softly, "Never is a very long time. And the longer I'm here, the longer you'll suffer. How many guards in this place?"
Jiang laughed but said nothing. He watched warily as Luke moved towards him.
"I don't need a board, and I don't care whether or not I leave marks," Luke told him, as he pulled Jiang up into a sitting position. He slipped a knife out of one of the many hiding places in his clothing. "That's one of the biggest mistakes you'll ever make, not searching me for weapons."
"I will not make that mistake again," Jiang told him coldly.
Luke smiled, "You're right. You won't."
The look in Luke's eyes chilled Colby as nothing had ever done before. Death was in those flat eyes.
Jiang screamed as Luke slipped the knife into his knee.
"You'll also never walk on that knee again," Luke told him. "I've severed the tendon. And I will keep severing tendons until you've answered my questions. Now, let's try this again, how many guards in this place?" He paused a moment and when there was no answer; he severed the tendon in the other knee.
Colby closed his eyes, unable to stand the sight of the bleeding knees. And if he could have, he would have put his hands against his ears to keep from hearing Jiang's screams.
"Twelve," Jiang sobbed. "And four dogs."
"Good." Even Luke's voice was flat now. "Where will they be?" Again, there was no answer, only sobbing. Luke slipped the knife into Jiang's elbow. Ignoring the scream, he said, "I can do this as long as you want. Where will they be?"
"The barracks are behind the silo. Six will be in the barracks, two will be guarding the entrance to the silo and four will be patrolling the grounds with the dogs," Jiang gasped out.
"Thank you," Luke said courteously. He moved over to Colby and murmured gently, "Will you be alright here on your own?"
"I don't think he's going anywhere, anytime soon," Colby muttered, unable to look in Jiang's direction.
"No, he won't," Luke rose and disappeared.
It wasn't very long before Luke reappeared. "Alright, it's clear." He was starting to help Colby up when they heard a rumble. They both looked up, frowning.
"What's that?" Colby asked.
Jiang laughed hysterically, "The missiles."
Luke set Colby down again, "What do you mean?" His eyes narrowed when Jiang refused to answer and he moved towards him.
"Luke, don't," Colby pleaded. He couldn't stand watching Luke torture Jiang anymore. He couldn't stand what it was doing to Luke. "It has to be the missile arming. You have to disarm it."
Nodding, Luke disappeared again.
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"Alright, I'm tired of waiting. How do we tell if the ice is refrozen?" Don had started to pace, if nothing else it helped keep him warm.
Just then, there was a cracking sound in the door.
Both men darted towards the door. The water had finally refrozen and the lock had cracked.
"Yes! It actually worked!" Sean hugged Don. He laughed when Don pushed him away. "Come on! We have to kick the door down!"
"We're not kicking anything," Don told him. "I'm not going to break my foot. You and I are going to put our arms to it."
Sean grinned, "Alright."
With a grunt, the two men threw themselves at the door. They slammed against it with their muscular upper arms. With both their weight against it, the door burst open.
Holding back for a second while they aimed their guns at the door, they cautiously looked outside.
"All clear," Don said in surprise. "Wonder where everyone is?"
"Maybe they're all out there searching."
"Or maybe they think we're in there for good and aren't looking anymore."
"Either way, it's good for us," Sean decided. "Come on, let's get out of here and get to the snowmobiles."
Quickly, they found their way out of the silo and headed down the hill to their snowmobiles. They headed back in the direction of the air field.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Don asked Sean over the communicator.
"No, it's not."
Don looked at Sean in surprise. It was Steele's voice.
"The silo blocks the communication; we haven't been able to keep contact. We managed to see enough to know you'll need alternate means of transportation. Head east towards Avacha Bay."
"East, that way," Sean indicated a direction.
"I have a compass. I'm not moving until I check it," Don told him as he struggled to get it out.
Sean didn't wait; he started in the direction he had indicated.
Don finally caught up with him. "How the heck did you know that?" He demanded.
"I just do, I've always been able to tell direction."
Sighing, Don concentrated on driving the snowmobile.
"You'll have to get on a boat somehow and head to the USS Pegasus," Steele told them. "The Pegasus won't do more."
"Great," Don muttered, "First I'm a traitor, now I'm a thief."
Sean grinned at him, "Don't worry, it won't show up on any record that matters."
Don scowled at him.
But they were lucky. Sean managed to buy them passage to the Pegasus. The promise of hard currency was too much for the fisherman. Even if he did raise the authorities after he dropped them off, they would be long gone. Still, it was with a great deal of relief that Sean and Don finally boarded the USS Pegasus and headed stateside.
--
Luke ran as quickly as he could back to the control room. Grimly he noticed that another control panel had swung from a hidden compartment into the control room. He cursed himself for not checking, especially when they realized the Chinese had redundant systems. He wondered why the missiles were deploying now, but didn't stop to ponder further. He had to disarm the guidance system before it was too late. Once again, Larry's instructions held, and the moving missiles stopped in mid load. Sighing with relief, he headed back down to where he had left Colby.
"All done," he told Colby as he helped him up. "Should I carry you?"
Colby shook his head, "I think I can manage."
Luke disagreed but he said nothing. He would let Colby decide when he'd had enough.
On their way out, Colby noticed the bodies of the guards and winced.
Mistaking the wince as an indication of Colby's condition, Luke told him, "We're almost there, but we have to hurry; the tranquilizers will wear off pretty soon. I don't want to tranq the dogs a second time."
Colby huffed a laugh. He found it ironic that Luke had killed the guards but only tranquilized the dogs. Then he groaned when they got to the rocky path back down to the beach. "I don't think I can make it down that path."
Luke eased him onto the grass and tried his communicator, "Mayday, mayday. We need a rescue boat, I repeat, we need a rescue boat."
There was a crackling then Steele's voice came on, "Luke! Thank God! I thought you had both died! The sub is on its way and they're going to deploy a boat."
"How long?" Luke asked grimly.
"They say thirty minutes."
"Tell them to hurry."
"Why? Is Colby alright?" Steele asked sharply.
"Colby is hanging in there. I guess I'll have to tranq the dogs again after all."
--
The Pegasus took Don and Sean as far as Juneau, Alaska, where a charter plane was waiting for them. They were jubilant until they got to the DDFS office.
"What's wrong?" Sean asked sharply.
"The guidance systems were all disarmed, the missile threat is over," Steele told them.
"That's good, right?" Don asked warily.
"Colby's hurt," Fiona said worriedly.
There was a silence, then Sean said hoarsely, "Does Hannah know?" As always, his first thought was for Hannah.
"No, not yet," Steele said quietly. "I wanted to see how he is for myself before I told her. The medic on board the submarine says that he's got a broken rib or two, and some bleeding where the manacles cut into the flesh."
"Manacles! What do you mean manacles?" Don demanded.
"He was tortured," Fiona said softly, "Luke had to watch."
Sean flinched. He knew how much Colby had come to mean to Luke.
"Tortured by whom?" Don's temper flared.
"According to Luke, it's the Chinese government's master torturer," Steele told him.
Don stared at him in helpless anger. "And we can't do anything about it?"
"I don't think we'll have to," Sean said slowly, finally understanding the worry in Fiona's eyes. It wasn't just for Colby. She was worried about Luke, about the psychological state he would be in when he got back.
"No, we won't," Steele said quietly. He was also worried. "When Luke wasn't there, Colby said it wasn't pretty. But that's all he would say."
"How much longer before they get back?" Sean asked, worried now.
"They should be in Norfolk within the hour. They'll check Colby at the hospital there, then it'll be about a six hour flight to Los Angeles," Steele sighed. "I thought it best to just wait."
--
Colby refused to be carried off the plane in a stretcher. Leaning heavily against Luke, he struggled down the steps from the plane. But he collapsed into the wheelchair.
"I don't want Hannah to know yet," he whispered, sweat beading on his forehead with the effort.
No one answered. They knew someone had to tell her something soon. Finally, Luke patted him gently on his shoulder, careful to use the shoulder that hadn't been dislocated by Jiang. "We'll wait a while."
Colby seemed satisfied with that as they wheeled him to the hospital.
--
Melanie's eyes were wide after they had settled Colby into her ward. "Just what is it that you guys went to do, Sean?" she asked after everyone but Sean had left.
"I can't tell you, you know that," Sean murmured. But something caught his eye and he turned. "What's she doing here?" He asked in alarm, as Hannah walked into Colby's room.
Melanie looked at him in surprise. "I called her when I found out that Colby was being sent here. I thought he would want her here."
"Oh, God, Melanie!" Sean ran to Colby's room, just in time to hear Hannah gasp.
"Oh, Colby!" Hannah gasped in horror, "What's happened?"
"Hannah, I'm sorry, I can't talk about this," Colby told her. He gasped in pain when she leaned on the shoulder Jiang had dislocated.
She backed away, worry in her eyes. "What should I do?"
"Nothing," he whispered as he closed his eyes. "Not yet." He didn't tell her to leave, he couldn't, after all he loved her too much for that. But he couldn't hold her to comfort her either, he just wasn't ready for that.
Hannah let out a heartbroken sob, and went out of the room, letting the door shut behind her.
"Hannah," Sean said softly, "He just needs a little time." Unable to bear the pain in her eyes, he gathered her close to comfort her.
And down the hall at the nurses' station, tears filled Melanie's eyes at the sight of Hannah in Sean's arms when she realized that Sean would never love her the way he loved Hannah.
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A/N: Can you believe that no one died?