Chapter 4- Hazy days
Michael breathed through the pain in his lower back and abdomen as they shackled him back in to the chair. The blow to his abdomen had knocked him to his knees. All for a bathroom break. He was sorry he asked. The two large men that helped him to the restroom had no intention of being taken off guard and thus upon standing, they had left indelible impressions with their fists. Upon returning, they had repeated the process, but this time to his kidneys. Their tactics, though brutal were very effective.
He sunk in again and concentrated on just taking a breath. Soon he would have to do more than just sit there. He would have to get out of this location.
The door in front of him opened and let light into the dark space.
"Mr. Westen good morning, did you sleep well?"
Michael looked at him and half smiled. "Not really, a wink now and then."
"Good, then my men are doing their job well."
"Is that your plan? Just keep me awake while I'm here. That doesn't seem... well thought out." Michael was fishing he need to get some information. Actually the plan was good, isolate, give no knowledge, use brutal force for the smallest request and weaken your opponent- don't let him sleep.
"There is more to it, but hopefully we won't have to get to the layers. If you know what I mean."
"No I don't, why don't you just tell me." Michael answered sarcastically.
"Michael, Michael, always the operative. Looking for any clues you can." pulling up a chair to sit in front of him. "Now let us see, it has been almost 24 hrs. You are correct, you haven't slept much and if I have anything to say about it, you won't sleep. Do you know people have died from not sleeping in as little as 7 days. At the very least it decreases your ability to handle stress and problem solve. All things you generally do very well."
"I can live a lot longer than that, but I get a feeling you don't have that much time, do you?"
"I have a lot of time. It's your friends and family that do not."
"What do you want?"
"I told you what I want, I just need an address."
"I told you I don't know."
"I'm sure we have had this discussion, and I don't plan on repeating it. So just tell me what I need to know and then you can go home."
"Go home, your just going to let me go?"
"Home is a relative term. Now where are they?"
Michael just smiled. He would hold off. Something would happen and he would get out.
Mintor nodded and the larger of the two men struck Michael firmly in the jaw with his fist. Causing his chair to fall over. He grunted loudly as his shoulder hit hard and he felt it dislocate.
They grabbed him roughly and righted the chair. Michael breathed in hard as the pain settled in a second jaw strike rocked the chair but not over.
Clenching his teeth Michael hissed out a few words "Torture is an ineffective tool for interrogation, even you should know that."
"I do know, but it can be fun and mixed with other forms, it can be effective."Mintor stood and walked behind Michael. "I will give you one more chance to answer me, or I will put my plan in high gear."
"I can't tell you what I don't know."
"Michael, that line is getting old."
The torch lit beneath the small metal pan about 2 inches in length. Mintor dropped some of the powder into the pan and waited for it to melt, adding a thin liquid he pulled some of it into a syringe and returned to Michael's front.
Michael watched him closely. He couldn't see what was happening behind him, but he could smell the burning of chemicals.
"Last chance. What do you think? Tell me what I need to know or I accelerate the process."
"It is the most powerful addictive drug known to man next to nicotine. Heroin! You will feel great in a few minutes, but in about two or three hours you will begin to have withdrawals. They can be...interesting, especially in your state."
Michael swallowed hard and pulled at his restraints. "You don't want to do this Mintor."
"But I do," Tapping the syringe with his fingers." In a few days, you will be begging to tell me anything I want to know.
Michael struggled under the restraints and the two large gentlemen held him tight as Mintor slid the needle under his skin and mixed the drug into his blood stream.
"Noooo..." Michael said as his will and fight diminished into the euphoria hell of the drug.
Maddie woke in the hotel room alone. Fiona had stayed most of the night, but left early in the morning before the sun came up. The room had a nice view of the Atlantic ocean and south to down town Miami as the sun rose up from the water Hiding her in town was her idea, and against Sam's wishes, but at least here they could update her on her son's disappearance and keep an eye on her.
Since the room was on a credit card being supplied by Barry, she was to charge all her meals and use the concierge service to get anything she might need. Her instructions were clear, other than the pool below, she was not to leave the hotel. She was not to tell people her name, she was just a widow on vacation from Maryland. She had reluctantly agreed after Fiona reminded her that they didn't also need to worry about her again. It had taken most of the previous afternoon to remove the bomb from under her bed and search the remaining house for any others.
Maddie had not slept well, she never did when he was missing. When he was gone all those years, she had slept fine, because she wasn't involved in his day to day life. She could imagine anything about his life: but now that he was back, it was hard to watch his life unfold. His life was dangerous, almost daily, and as a mother should, she worried.
She ran through the conversation she had with Sam the night before. He had looked tired, worn out and he didn't know what to say to her. This thought had passed through his head many times since Mike returned to Miami almost 4 years ago. He had told him several times to move around, stay in a new location every few months, but Mike wasn't scared. If they were coming for him, this was a good a place as any. If they really wanted him, they would succeed. He had been right. The right person had succeeded and left little in the way of clues.
"Maddie we know very little."
"Sam, is this the government again?"
"I don't think so, if it was them, there would not have been a bomb in your bed. That is just not a government thing. This is a freelance job. They needed Mike to behave and I assume he did since it didn't blow."
"Are you saying Mike was taken because of me?"
"No, you were just the push to get him in the car. Mike was taken to get Mike. You were just leverage. They knew he wouldn't let his mother die, it's actually a low blow."
"Now what?"
"I don't know. We move you, we move Fi and we warn Nate."
"Nate is in danger?"
" Nate is just leverage, that's all. We need him just to get out of Las Vegas for a few days until we can figure out what exactly is going on. When it is safe he can return, and so can you. I'm sure Mike is dealing with his own demons, he doesn't need to worry about his family and friends. He knows we would hide you."
"Do you think he knows the bomb in my house did not go off?"
"For his sake Maddie, I hope so. That would be torture."
Michael came out of the haze about two hours later. As his body came down from the height of the drugs effect, he was sick to his stomach and vomited on the floor in front of his chair. His muscles ached and his head hurt, but he had a strange desire to do it again. A thought he fought desperately.
"Ah , your back. Did you enjoy that? Now let us try that again.
Again he was grabbed roughly and held firmly. The needle slid into his arm and the high returned taking him somewhere else. His body limp, slumped over in the chair.
"You can cut the bindings, he won't be anymore trouble."MIntor said. "Remember when he comes out, he is not to sleep and he gets another dose immediately. I will return after dinner. Both of you will be relieved in a few hours and your pay has already been forwarded to the accounts you have given me. I don't want to see you again. You are to disappear. Do not stay in Miami."
Both men nodded in agreement, eager to be away from this psycho they had called boss over the last few days. It was a disagreeable assignment and one they would move on from easily. It was just part of a mercs job, bad bosses, crazy people with crazy ideas, but he had paid very well.
Several hours went by and Michael received a third dose of the drug, this time slightly more. He seemed to want it more when it came, and he found that the resistance in his mind was giving him was becoming harder to believe.
He spent several hours in and out of the drug induced haze, mostly out. With several more doses at different intervals and different strengths. His will was becoming weaker and he lay on the ground unable to resist.