"What do you mean, another punishment? What're you doin' to Murdock, fool?" B.A. angrily quieried.
Hill was enjoying this more than he thought possible. As long as he had their friend, he was practically invincible. But they still assumed they could save both Murdock and Daniella. It was all quite heartwarming, really. Sad, yet heartwarming. "Never mind what I'm doing to your friend, fellas," he smiled, still gripping Daniella in a chokehold. "It's what I'm going to do to him. When I'm done, he'll be nothing more than a shell of his former self."
"He's givin' him Mescaline!" Daniella cried out, still struggling.
"Mescaline? That's like LSD!" the blond guy-Face, he believed Daniella called him-exclaimed. "Hannibal, the meds from the VA, they-"
"I know what it means," Hannibal scowled, glaring at Hill. "You listen, Hill and you listen good. We don't like it when scumbags try to hurt our friends. You may seem smug now, but we're like a pack of coyotes. You mess with one of our own, we're gonna come at ya from all different directions until you got nowhere to run or hide. Then, you just better pray that the Earth below swallows you up before we do."
Hill chuckled. "Nice imagery. I'll think about it any time I need a good laugh. Now if you will excuse me, I have to return her to her room and get Murdock's next dose ready."
He watched with sadistic glee as Hannibal's eyes shifted to the big black guy. He knew he wanted him to grab the gun and quickly shoot it. Good thing he'll miss, he thought as he waved goodbye and the two of them quickly disappeared in a puff of smoke. Just as he suspected, the sound of a gun firing could be heard.
"You'll never get away with this, Hill!" Daniella screamed as they reached the door to her and Murdock's room. "Never!"
"You are to call me Uncle Randy, girl!" he yelled, shoving her down on the floor and pointing the gun at her. "Just because you are an adult now, does not give you the right to disrespect me!"
Daniella cried out in fear and it satisfied him the way she sounded just like she did when she was a child. Quickly, he grabbed her wrist and jerked her up again. "Now let's go back inside and check on Murdock."
As soon as Hill opened the door and looked over to where Murdock lay, he felt calm again. At least he was staying in one place. Still pulling her to the other bed, he reached over to the incline button and set the bed flat again before jerking the button off entirely. "Now, let's get you back where you belong," he told her soothingly before grabbing his gun and making harsh contact to the back of the head.
After carefully re-strapping her down to the bed, he nodded and walked back over to Murdock, smiling at his pasty face and glossy eyes. "So sorry you had to miss all the fun."
Murdock thought he heard a scream and possibly a scuffle somewhere, but his head felt far too heavy to move towards the sounds. The only thing he could tell was that Daniella was close-by, possibly crying and that jerk Randy Hill mumbled something to him before leaving. He also recalled Daniella was just about to ask him a question before he was injected. But he couldn't remember if she asked what the weather was going to be or if he knew the lyrics to "The Girl From Ipanema". Maybe she didn't ask either one. I need to try and say something so Ella won't worry, he thought to himself, trying to get past the feeling that his tongue weighed about seventy-five pounds. "I..."
"Murdock?" Daniella sniffed. Yep, she had definitely been crying. But she sounded about a thousand miles away.
"I...I c-c-c-an..."
"You can what?"
Come on, Murdock, he scolded himself mentally. Finish your sentence like a human being. "I c-can hear colors!"
"Wait; what?" Daniella asked uneasily.
I'm with her; what the hell are you talking about? his mind screamed. "I can hear colors. Red sounds really angry but purple won't stop snorin'."
"Murdock, that's the Mescaline talkin'. You gotta tell the colors to shut up or come up with a plan to get us outta here. Your friends are here, but they ain't havin' much luck. I escaped for a minute and saw Face, but Uncle Randy grabbed me and brought me back. You followin' all this?" Daniella rambled.
"The guys...are here?" Murdock asked.
"Yeah, but Uncle Randy said because I escaped, you're gonna get another dose. We gotta get outta here before that happens!"
Think, you crazy moron; think! You gotta clear outta this fog long enough to come up with a plan to get you and Ella to safety, his brain commanded. "Ella...you asked me something before I was given the drugs. The answer is yes. I do know the lyrics to 'The Girl from Ipanema'," he mumbled almost incoherently. The fog was getting thicker and the colors were getting louder, almost making it impossible to hear his thoughts.
"I never-" Daniella replied but her words were cut short by a faraway scream and the gentle stinging sensation in his arm. He could hear a male voice mumble something about it being done before he heard a slamming door and that crying sound again.
Murdock pushed through the fog and noises one more time. "And yes. I feel like I've known you somewhere...before...here," he managed to slur before the fog overtook him and he felt himself float away from the noises and chaos.
Quickly motioning with his hand for his team mates to stay behind him, Hannibal peered around a corner as he heard what sounded like a medical cart being wheeled down the hallway. Sure enough, a man dressed as an orderly was pushing one towards them. Grabbing his weapon, he nodded before he, Face and B.A. blocked his path. "Not so fast. What are you doing with that cart of medicine?"
Seeing that all three pointed their guns at him, he shoved the cart at them as hard as he could before taking off.
"After him, B.A.!" Hannibal ordered, and the large man caught up to him almost instantly, grabbing him, spinning him around and looking the scared orderly in the eyes.
"We asked you a question, fool!"
The man reached in his pocket to grab for something, but B.A.'s massive fist met with the man's jaw first, sending him to the floor in an unconscious heap.
As B.A. picked the orderly up effortlessly over his shoulders, he turned and saw Face's worried expression. "What is it, man?"
"Mescaline," Face replied, holding up the small vial. "Hill must've had him give Murdock another dose."
"We need to find a place to hold this guy until he decides to start talking," Hannibal said, looking around before grinning. "I believe this room over to the left will work just fine."
Face smiled. "A supply closet. Now why didn't I think of that?"
As Face picked the lock and opened the door, B.A. found a crate to set him down on while Hannibal filled a giant mop bucket with water and bleach.
Now let's just hope he talks and doesn't lead us straight into a trap, Hannibal thought, waiting for the orderly to wake up. If we don't get to Murdock soon, we may never get him back. And if he gets angry enough, he could hurt Daniella, too. We need to get them out and take out Hill as soon as possible.
"Hannibal, he's waking up!" B.A. announced.
"Good. Now let's show him some good, clean hospitality," Hannibal joked, holding the bucket level to the orderly's chest
"What's going on?" the guy asked, looking around.
"We gonna ask you once. And you better answer and answer good, or we gonna dip your head in this bucket o' bleach water; ya hear?" B.A. growled, grabbing the back of the guy's white scrub top.
"Where are Ms. Sanford and the guy you drugged?" Hannibal asked.
"I-I-can't tell you!"
Hannibal looked to B.A. "B.A.? That's your cue."
With Hannibal still holding the mop bucket of water and bleach, B.A. jerked the guys head down just short of dipping his face inside. "Now, you gonna talk or we gonna clean your face!"
"Okay, okay! It burns! Let me up!" the guy screamed.
Face raised his eyebrows in amusement as B.A. jerked the man's head back up.
"Now talk," Hannibal glowered.
"They are in Room 13. I just gave that guy another dose per Dr. Hill's request."
"And Ms. Sanford? Is she alright?" Face asked.
"Yeah. I didn't give her nothing. I think he just wants to scare her or something."
"Is there a base of operations where Hill keeps all his little party tricks?" Hannibal pressed further.
"I don't know; honest!" the man replied quickly. "Dr. Hill is a pretty secretive guy. He don't like it when we ask questions."
"Well we don't like it when he kidnaps people and tries to get our friend addicted to drugs!"
"Look. I know you don't wanna hear this, but your friend getting the brunt of the punishment is keeping Ms. Sanford from being harmed. From what I heard last time, she was a wreck."
"She was a kid!" B.A. cried. "So if anything happens to either one of 'em, Hill's gonna get his injection in the form of my fist in his face!"
"Well, I-I hope you can pull it off. Everybody here is scared of Hill. I just injected your friend and-and he don't look too good. Hill's gonna kill him and then go after Ms. Sanford. I know that's what he's gonna do," the orderly said, whispering his last sentence.
Hannibal looked at Face and B.A., his face masking his true feelings. He was terrified for Murdock. He cared deeply for that girl. Deeply enough to sign his own death certificate in order to save her from one moment of pain. And that was exactly why they had to find them before it was too late for either one.
