Disclaimer: I still don't own them. Dammit.

Spoilers: If you haven't read 'Missing Something?' first, I suggest you do, since there are major references to it.

A/N: Cliffie, a cliffie? Did I do that again???

I Found What You Lost

"Oh, shit," Eliot whispered as he slumped to the floor.

When he woke, the Retrieval Specialist was in what looked like a glass box that was about eight feet square, with four solid, clear walls and a metal grate on the ceiling and another large one embedded into the concrete floor. He shook his head, trying to throw off the remnants of the knockout gas.

"Welcome, little smutljivac, it is good to see you again."

Suddenly furious at himself, the team, and this bastard in front of him, Eliot uncoiled like an over wound spring and launched himself at the wall in front of Dubravko, landing against it with enough force that he thought it should shatter. He was satisfied to see a little fear in the bigger man's eyes, and the other two in the room actually took a step back.

"I am sorry, Eliot, but you cannot break this shatterproof glass. Even though you have recovered considerable strength, you still are not Superman," the general pouted theatrically. "I am glad to see that the wounds we gave you have healed quite nicely." Only then did Eliot realize that he was barefoot and shirtless.

"You do remember that we made you a promise, I hope? That we could, and would return for you? My divote voditelj has placed me under his command once again, and I am here at his behest. It is only too bad that your friends from Montana could not be here to share this with you."

Eliot couldn't be more relieved that Caroline, Thom and George were still safe. It was odd, but after the incident at Montana Skies and what they had told him of their captors, Eliot actually believed that this man hadn't hurt them. Twisted though it was, this Croatian seemed to have a sense of honor that prohibited him from lying or doing collateral damage to anyone his leader had not instructed him to.

"I trust you remember one of our little games, do you not?"

Eliot wasn't sure what he was talking about until a great gush of water poured into the cube and started filling his prison.

"You bastard!" Eliot yelled angrily as he punched the wall in frustration, "What the hell do you guys want from me?!?!!?"

"We have told you already, dear Eliot. Only your suffering," the man's dark eyes smiled as he watched the water quickly rise past Eliot's knees. "Oh, I do hope you know how to swim? Although, it will be not much good to you, I fear."

The water swirled around his thighs, then his hips, and the young man furiously remembered the last time he had been in this similar situation. He grimaced and his lips twitched as he frantically looked for a way out.

He pounded on the glass in front of Dubravko and growled, "I will kill you."

"You may try," the general purred as he saw that Eliot had noticed a blinking red dot in the background. "Oh yes, I forgot to tell you to smile for the camera."

Eliot hoped that they weren't recording this in order to send to Caroline and Thom, or putting it online as a real-time video. Although it may help Hardison (who he really hoped was tracking him right now) find out where he was, he still didn't want anyone to watch this.

The water was past his waist now, and although he could swim quite well and actually enjoyed it, he failed to see that his skill would help him for long, since the grate was only a few feet above his head. He scanned the welds of the grate edges, but to his dismay they seemed solid.

The water played against his chest, gently lifting him up in its waves. He started to slowly tread water as the water level continued to rise, and glared down at Dubravko when the top of his head bumped against the grate.

He threaded his fingers around the gate and tried to push, but there was nothing he could brace himself against except water, so he quickly gave up and started to hyperventilate, drawing as much oxygen into his blood as he could before the water closed over his head.

Eliot continued to hang from the grate as the water rushed over the top, hoping that like last time, they would let him up for air again. He scowled at Dubravko as the man just stood there. A few bubbles escaped, and he closed his eyes tight, concentrating on ignoring the pain in his lungs. Opening his blue eyes again, he bared his teeth as the general just smiled.

Soon his scowl changed into a grimace of pain and desperation, and just before he had to take a breath, he heard a drain open in the floor and the water level dropped three inches, just enough for him to gasp in fresh air.

"No!" He couldn't help himself from yelling as the water flowed back in. One deep gasp was all he had time for before the water covered him again. This time Eliot let his body float down in front of Dubravko and placed his hands on the glass. He let all of his fury and passion fill his face as he mouthed one word: DIE.

Dubravko's men started arguing then; to them Eliot looked like an angel of death, floating in the water with his long hair flowing around his face, utter contempt and the promise of retribution written in every glare.

The dark eyed man would not allow anyone to see it, but he was beginning to wonder if they weren't right in their comparison. He knew without a doubt that given any opportunity, no matter how small, this man would kill him. However, his loyalties were strong and his orders clear; he was not to kill the easterner today.

oooOOOooo

Nate walked into his temporary office and bumped against his desk, sending papers and notes onto the floor. Distracted by what Sophie was saying to him over the phone, he shuffled them into a pile and placed them on the corner of the desk again, Eliot's note upside down on the top.

oooOOOooo

Hardison flicked on the computer screen and looked up as Nathan walked in the door, still distractedly talking to Sophie on the telephone. Alec moved over to his laptop and logged online, initializing his World of Warcraft Horde character, eager to try the newest expansion pack. The red dot that indicated Eliot's distress flashed madly in the corner of the other monitor, unseen.

oooOOOooo

Eliot darted like a fish up to the top again, his body curling up around the grate, so he ordered the water to drain again. This time he let it drain a full foot and allowed Eliot to float for a few minutes before gesturing for the water to fill once more.

Eliot rested as he could, letting himself float as the water rose, hyperventilating again but making no other movement. Any exertion used up more oxygen. As the water closed over his face, he forced his body to remain still as long as he could; pressed up against the grate and absently studying the ceiling, he tried to think of anything other than the air he was being denied.

Soon though, his body started to twitch, and his legs drew back as his hands clenched around the grate. As with the last time they had nearly drowned him, they waited until he couldn't stand it anymore and took a reflexive breath. Water burned into his lungs and his body thrashed against the grate. Another breath and stars danced at the edges of his blackening vision. He felt the water start to drain and threw his head back to get air, but only succeeded in smashing the back of his skull against the metal grate. Dazed, he floated on the water as it rapidly drained out the huge overflow that Dubravko had opened. Eliot's body thudded onto the cement none too gently and that caused him to convulse and arch over onto his side, vomiting up the water in his lungs.

He lay on the cold metal floor with his eyes closed, shivering, hoping that they would think him unconscious.

oooOOOooo

Parker and Sophie returned from their 'errand' of shopping, Sophie happily breezing by with six shopping bags from designer stores on her arms. Parker dropped her single paper bag on the table beside Hardison's computer and glanced curiously at the red dot that was furiously blinking in the corner of the screen.

"What's this?" she asked blandly.

"Huh? Wha??? Probably nuthin'," Hardison said distractedly.

"But it's blinking," she insisted.

Certain that it was just something shiny that had caught her attention, Hardison got up off the couch, still holding his laptop. He glanced up and dropped the laptop, shoving her aside as he jumped into the chair.

"NATE!" he yelled, "We got trouble!"

Nathan ran into the room just as the hacker transferred what he was working on to the main screen they had set up in the corner.

"Eliot's transponder is goin' off, looks like it was activated….oh, shit."

"When?!" Nathan roared.

"Uh, two hours ago," Alec cringed.

"Why didn't you….!"

"Nathan, I found a note from Elio….." Sophie interrupted, but stopped when she saw the look Nate was giving Hardison.

When he heard Eliot's name mentioned, he grabbed the note from her.

"Nate," it read, "got a funny feeling down at the docks yesterday. I'm gonna check it out, but keep an eye out. Eliot."

"Shit, we all dropped the ball."

"Uh, guys?" Hardison asked in a small voice, "I think we need to look at this. It's a video attached to an email labeled 'I Found What You Lost'."

Remembering the hideous phone call they had received five months ago, Nate nodded and Hardison opened the attachment with dread.

It was a real-time video feed from inside a warehouse building with a water filled glass cube in the center. They could see a body clad only in jeans floating near the top and knew without a doubt that it was Eliot. They watched in horror as Eliot's body convulsed, fists pounding against the top of the cube, his legs flailing in the water. The water level dropped about a foot, and they watched as Eliot thrashed until his head made hard contact with the lid of the container. He went limp, and then the water gushed out into an overflow drain, and as the water level fell, so did Eliot until he was dropped harshly onto the ground. The team watched as Eliot spasmed and rolled over, vomiting water out of his lungs with great coughs. Then he lay still.

"Hardison, are you…?"

"Already all over it boss, it's a real time feed, so it's happenin' NOW. I'm tracking his transponder and crossing it with the location of the feed, and…yup, they match. I got an address."

"Then let's go!"

oooOOOooo

Eliot must have passed out for a few moments; when he opened his eyes, he found Dubravko crouching down, looking nearly into his eyes.

"Good. Good, you are awake. Now we continue."

The young specialist groggily moved his head from side to side, wondering what the Croatian meant. It took him only moments to see the cables that were now attached to the ceiling grate. He already knew that there was a metal frame inside the glass cage and his heart leaped into his throat.

He didn't have any more time than that before Dubravko himself flipped the switch to activate the current.

Instantly Eliot's body jerked, his heels drumming on the floor and his head banging in a matching rhythm.

Dubravko turned off the current and Eliot relaxed, his muscles still twitching.

"Hmmm, that seemed a very small current; we shall turn it up, yes?"

He flipped the switch again and Eliot's teeth snapped shut on his lip, blood trickling down his chin as he convulsed. Pain rocketed through every nerve ending, setting his skin on fire.

It seemed like years before the general turned off the machine again. Eliot lay panting on the floor, his ears ringing.

Dimly he heard the general talking, whether to him or to his companions, he wasn't too sure.

He had started to roll to his right side when the current was activated again, making his body arch and trapping him in a rictus of agony. His eyelids fluttered as his eyes rolled halfway back into his skull; a blood vessel broke in his right eye covering the whites with red. Blood started to flow from his nose, joining with that from his split lip to pool on the wet floor beneath him.

Stuttering moans forced their way out from between his clenched teeth.

The voltage stopped, and the exhausted man dropped his head to the floor, little stars spraying across his blurry vision. He lay shivering and curled up on his side, having given up trying to remember why he had tried to move in the first place.

TBC

A/N: Okay, I'm torn. You guys want me to kill Dubravko in the next chapter, or let him get away to maybepossiblyperhaps strike again sometime in the future????? You gotta review to let me know!