Search Begins & Partner Betrayal Game
Taxi Cab Enroute to Fisheries on Port Lands
Connor was drinking some strong coffee; had to, he needed the caffeine boost because he was completely knackered. He spent most of the flight re-reviewing each of the fifteen files. It wasn't as if he didn't know the files by heart. But he wanted to be completely prepared to assist in any way possible.
He had looked for reoccurring details of the MO so he would recognize them and possibly predict movements in this case. The case files indicated that it took the Anagram Killer between five and thirteen days to kill the officers. From the postmortem reports and pictures the Anagram Killer was utterly brutal. But since the SRU officers were taken only yesterday the chances were good that if they could get a lead on where the officers had been taken they could be saved.
He had spoken with the SRU Commander Norman Holleran who was very cooperative after he explained his interest in this case. Holleran had confirmed that the bodies in the fire were not his officers. Team One's Sergeant had informed the arson investigator of the fact the constables were not alone in the building. So they had rushed the dental comparisons and found that neither were even a close match for either officer. That had been a small relief.
Now it would be an all-out race to locate the missing SRU officers. He looked at his notes wanting to remember their names: Samuel Braddock and Michelangelo Scarlatti. From the details Holleran provided they fit the profile of the Anagram Killer's target. Single, male, late twenties to early thirties, partners in the field and friends outside of work.
Connor told Holleran when he was arriving and he instructed him to meet the multi-agency task force at the fishery upon his arrival. Connor had been a little surprised to find that so many agencies and departments were involved. There were seven, including his agency, that all claimed to have reason for being the one in charge or to at least be involved.
Toronto Metro Police had three departments involved including SRU, Homicide and Specialized Criminal Investigations. The Toronto Fire Department Arson Investigation Division was involved due to the explosions. He could see that those were all fairly relevant and understandable agencies.
But then Holleran had said that RCMP was claiming jurisdiction because the one subject apprehended so far had entered the country illegally. When he asked about the suspect Holleran said the man had clammed up and would not tell them anything not even his name. It looked like the man had more fear of whoever was in charge than of the police.
They only had a name Saul Rodriguez from his finger prints. He had many, many aliases and a long list of crimes in his home country of Brazil. His profiler Kelly had suggested that the killer was a loner and likely had trust issues. It made Connor wonder if the Anagram Killer picked up a new crew from each country he hit before moving to the next one. Especially since the last case was from Brazil.
Holleran had also said that a CSIS agent showed up claiming an interest in the case because one of the SRU officers taken had been consulting for them on several top secret projects. He checked his notes again. That would be Constable Scarlatti the technical guy and bomb expert.
Then he was told that an Army Special Forces liaison was involved because Constable Braddock was apparently ex-JTF2 and they claimed it could be a matter of national security. The name Braddock rolled around in his head. That name sounded familiar but he couldn't quite place it.
His agency, Interpol, rounded out the interested agencies and he knew ultimately they would take ownership. Connor decided to stay out of any ownership kerfuffle for now. He really didn't care which agency got credit for capture; that was all political as far as he was concerned.
He would not let politics get in the way. He had a job to do. What he sought right now was that they pool their resources and use their skills to ensure the perpetrators were caught and prevented from doing this ever again.
This was the first opportunity he had to catch the murdering bastard. So far the Anagram Killer had been very careful and the cases always came to him after the officers were dead and buried. It was frustrating there were never any traceable elements left behind at the crime scenes. They found nothing that allowed him to get even the slightest hint of who was actually doing this.
As the cab approached the location Connor decided he would only throw his weight around if any arguing impeded the progress to find the officers. As much as he wanted to catch the Anagram Killer his primary goal must be to find the abducted SRU officers alive. Hopefully, if they all worked together, it would be accomplished quickly and before much harm was inflicted on the officers.
Fisheries on Port Lands
The cabbie came to a stop and Connor paid him then got out. The sun was just breaking the horizon. Connor saw a number of men all gathered and arguing loudly. Bollocks, this did not bode well. What he heard angered him, it was an agency ownership pissing contest. He needed a moment to himself before addressing the issue.
He scanned the area and saw a lone woman standing near one of the burnt down buildings. At first glance in the morning light his heart halted. Alice. So petite, brown hair done up in a ponytail. She was wearing black shoes, faded gray jeans and a black sweater with her purse slung over her shoulder and held with one hand. His feet automatically propelled him towards her.
It was only as he got closer he realized it was not his beautiful daughter Alice. It was only a trick of the morning light and his sleep-deprived wishful thinking. No, Alice was gone and she had been for nearly nine years now. He continued forward still compelled even though it was not Alice.
The clothing he imagined, what Alice was wearing when she died, morphed into reality. He now saw the black boots, cool gray pants, a long-sleeve black uniform shirt covered by a tactical vest and an MP5 held in her hands. She was an SRU officer. He smiled because she still was petite and had a soft brown ponytail just like Alice.
Connor stopped at her side peering at the burned out building. He saw where the bodies had been laying. After a moment he took a slide glance at the petite officer and was shocked. She did somewhat resemble his Alice. A set jaw and fierce look of determination. Although small in stature, here definitely was a woman to be reckoned with. She turned and set an appraising eye to him.
Jules noticed the silver haired man that appeared to her right. She had heard him approaching. He was wearing a nice suit, not cheap but not overly expensive. He wore comfortable looking loafers. Instantly she got the vibe that he was in law enforcement of some kind. Jules wonder which one of the agencies currently wasting valuable time arguing over who was to process the scene he belonged to.
"Can I help you?" Jules said calmly although she was nothing even close to calm. She noticed an almost haggard but determined look on his age worn face as he turned toward her when she addressed him.
Turning to face her Conner noticed the dark circles under her eyes but also the spark of fire that burned in her eyes. He instantly knew she must be a teammate of the officers taken. He smiled kindly and said "I hope I can help you. I'm Connor McGillie, Interpol Manchester, UK. Please call me Connor."
She heard Interpol and thought this is just great one more agency to play the damned power game and wasting time, valuable time. God she wished they could get started already. Sam and Spike needed them to be able to start. But no, the damned political types were duking it out to be top man.
Jules knew Commander Holleran was over there trying to mediate so they could get started. He was as ticked off as the rest of Team One that they were not allowed into crime scene until they determine which agency would take lead.
But for some unknown reason that thought faded as she continued to look at the man. Jules was drawn to the man's hazel eyes, they were kind eyes. He had a clear strong voice that sounded younger than he looked and a refined English accent. She found herself responding "I'm Julianna Callaghan, SRU. My friends call my Jules."
"May I call you Jules?" Connor asked with a slight smile.
She nodded then said "What is Interpol doing here?"
Connor briefly explained "Sadly, this circumstance has a similar MO to fifteen cold cases I'm working that have occurred in fifteen countries over eight years. I'm here to offer information and help to get your teammates back alive. I have details that will hopefully help find the officers before it is too late for them like the others."
Jules looked at him incredulously. Something like this had happened before? Not just this once, but fifteen times? His words were not lost on her, get them back before it was too late for Sam and Spike like the fifteen other times.
She was tired of waiting to get stated so said "Boss, Ed, Wordy can you join me please. I've got someone here that may be able to help us find Sam and Spike."
At her words Connor watched as three men dressed like her approached from an SUV several yards away. They were not part of the group arguing for dominance in the case. He wondered how they had heard her from this distance but then he noticed the headset in her ear. All three men looked much like her and somewhat like himself, worry-worn and tired but determined.
Something felt right like it had never felt before. Connor's gut told him that he had just found the team that would solve this case. He would bypass the political wrangling and get started with these four SRU officers.
House in the Woods - Basement
Spike blinked his eyes open. When had he fallen asleep he wondered? Looking across from him he saw Sam's eyes were still closed. He wanted badly to check on him, wake him like he should do with a head injury. But he also did not want to wake him. He watched Sam's chest rise and fall, regular breathing, no signs of distress. Good.
He needed him asleep for his plan to work. If Sam were awake he would speak first and tell them he would take the consequences and Spike just could not let that happen. Sam was in no shape to get hit anymore. He could take it whether Sam thought he could or not.
Rolling his head around his shoulders to stretch his aching neck Spike wondered if the team would be looking for them yet. With a little sleep and time to think his clearer head had realized they would check the identities of the bodies. They would know it was not him and Sam but how long would that take?
Spike then wondered how long he had slept. There was no window so he could not tell if it was daytime yet. He glanced at his watch. Wow near seven am. He slept almost four hours straight. Sam had been out for nearly seven. Good, with a concussion he really needed the rest.
The door to the basement opened. Spike looked up as the leader and the boat driver came down the stairs. The leader said in an all too happy voice "Good morning. Time to wake up and play our little game. I trust you two have decided who is answering the questions and who is taking the consequences."
Spike quickly spoke "I'm taking the consequences. Sam is answering questions."
The leader smiled weirdly Spike thought; it creeped him out. He instructed the henchman to wake up Sam. The henchman opened his duffle bag and pulled out a large cup then went to the sink and filled it with water. He came back, lifted Sam's head by the chin and tilted it back then dumped the entire contents onto Sam's upturned face.
Startled awake, Sam felt a flickering instance of absolute fear as cold water splashed into his face. His rapid intake of breath resulted in a coughing fit as he inhaled some water with the air. Sam rapidly blinked his eyes. God he couldn't stand water hitting his face but at least there was no rag tightly covering his nose and mouth.
It took him a moment to realize he was not there and to recall exactly where he was at. Crap here wasn't much better then there. He quickly looked to the other chair needing to know if Spike was okay. Relief cascaded down through him much like the water still dripping down his face.
Several more coughs clearing his lungs and he registered the leader and his henchman. His head was wrenched backwards and up by the henchman as the crazy bastard approached him and said "Time to wake up. Games about to start and you need to play."
The first thing Sam said was "I'm taking the consequences."
"Tsk, tsk, both of you so noble. But your buddy already beat you to declaring he was going to take the consequences" the leader smirked.
Sam glared at Spike. What was he doing? "Spike, we agreed."
Spike glared back. "No we didn't. You went out when we were discussing it. He asked me first so I made the decision" he responded resolutely. Then a bit softer he said "I can handle more than you think."
Looking at his friend, his brother, Sam understood the protectiveness Spike felt for him. It was the same he felt for Spike. Sam sighed and gave Spike a saddened look that read as you really shouldn't have done that. Spike's expression back at him said I had to buddy.
Sam's head was clearer today, it still throbbed but luckily the nausea and light sensitivity had mostly abated. He acknowledged Spike's decision with one short nod. Then he gave Spike a look that communicated thank you. Out loud Sam said "I guess I'm answering questions then."
Rubbing his hands together the leader looked gleeful "Capitulated a bit easy didn't you. Guess you don't care as much about him as he does about you."
Sam remained quiet allowing the accusation to roll off his back. This man did not know them. Also there was no question there and he had learned to keep verbal responses to a minimum when dealing with interrogations and torture. He kept his eyes on the leader and his face neutral.
"Shall we begin?" the leader asked.
Sam nodded once.
"Okay, first let me introduce myself. My name is Vlad Reznik. I'll be your host for a little game I like to call Partner Betrayal. We will start easy. What is your buddy's name?" Vlad asked. He thought this is going be fun to watch Spike's reaction.
"Spike" Sam answered.
At the same time as Vlad said "Wrong" the henchman landed a solid punch to his stomach that made Sam gasp for breath. He was not expecting that.
Spike's eyes widened in disbelief as he yelled "What the hell? I'm the one who is taking the consequences. And my name is Spike."
Grinning at Spike, Vlad corrected "Your nickname is Spike. I did not ask for your nickname." God the look on his face was priceless. It was almost as if he had been punched too. This was gonna be so good.
Pushing the gun into Sam's thigh he spoke again "Now Spike you best be quiet. Sam is answering the questions. If you so much as speak again I will shoot him in the leg. Point blank range might just shatter his femur."
As he had gasped for air Sam overheard the answer to Spike's statements. His mind was rapidly running through his training and realized what this bastard was doing; consequences could take on many forms.
Part of him was very glad the man took this path. He could handle the physical pain. He just hoped Spike could handle the emotional pain. Spike had chosen to take the consequences thinking he would save Sam from the physical beating. Neither of them had counted on the real consequences being emotional ones.
Spike was going to be forced to watch him get beat to hell for wrong answers. Sam knew that would play havoc with Spike's emotions. He would feel guilty and think it was his fault. But none of this was either of their faults. It was solely this madman's fault.
Turning back to Sam, Vlad said "Now, what is your buddy's name?"
Sam answered "Michelangelo Scarlatti." He wanted to add 'it's not your fault Spike'. But he knew it would result in some form of retaliation so he kept quiet trying to let Spike see his message in his expression.
"Good. You caught on quick. What is your name?" Vlad asked.
"Samuel W. Braddock" he answered. Christ it was on the tip of his tongue to add his rank and service number too but luckily he stopped himself in time.
Warming to his game Vlad inquired "What are the names of your team mates?"
Sam struggled with whether he should answer. His military training wanted to kick in and remain mute and not answer even the most benign sounding question. He received a hard slap to the face for remaining quiet. He still did not answer. The man snarled at him.
Vlad walked over to Spike and pointed the gun at Spike "You will play along and give me an answer to each question or I will shoot him several times in non-lethal locations. Then you can simply watch as he slowly bleeds out and dies."
If he was still in JTF2 he would remain quiet knowing that his buddy would understand why he stayed quiet. But Spike was not a JTF2 soldier and the questions were not top secret. The answers to the questions could be easily found. In fact the man had to already know the answers if he was going to be able to determine a wrong answer.
Pushing that part of his training aside Sam answered "Gregory Parker, Edward Lane, Kevin Wordsworth and Julianna Callaghan."
Reznik proceeded to ask him questions that were seemingly innocuous about sports, local events, news, locations of places and general trivia. Every time he got one wrong, he was punched in the stomach, face or ribs. Vlad quickly found his weakness and noticed he had mostly wrong answers for the local events and news.
Sam knew he got them wrong because he lived in an insular world that revolved around work and Jules. He did not watch the news and he and Jules were mostly home-bodies due to their secret relationship. They could not take the risk of being seen about town as a couple very often. They had only taken in a few movies or dinners out since they got back together.
Spike was reeling. He had to bite the insides of his cheeks not yell at the bastard to stop or to call out the answers. He knew the answer to every single question that had been asked so far. God what had he been thinking. Sam never watched TV unless it was a sporting event. He knew Sam preferred to be outside and engaged in an activity rather than idly watching TV.
His buddy was getting beat to hell because he had assumed. He assumed he knew what the consequences would be. He knew better than to assume. He could see the bruising on Sam's chest and side beginning. The henchman kept hitting Sam in the same spots. His lip was already split and bleeding.
Spike wondered how long the questioning would go on. He looked at his watch and saw it had gone on for over two hours now. How much could Sam take?
Sam was finding it difficult to manage the pain. This wasn't like what he had trained for. He was trained to manage the pain by letting his mind go to another place. Trained to disassociate himself from the beatings and the questions. That was easier to do because his training required him to stay mute or simply respond automatically with name, rank and service number.
But this was different. He had to listen for the question and then respond. His mind had to stay present in the here and now. If he didn't respond to the question the bastard threatened to shoot Spike.
Crap, he realized he hadn't heard the last question as he heard Vlad yell "Answer the question or Spike gets shot."
Sam asked "What was the question?" His jaw was slammed again with a huge fist. He spat out blood that filled his mouth, god he hated the coppery metal taste of blood.
Vlad said "I asked you if you had a girlfriend."
Sam panicked inside he could not answer this one honestly. It was a secret that could get them fired. This man might go after Jules too. He could not risk that and needed to protect Jules at all costs. Outwardly he had remained neutral and he answered "No."
"Wrong" Vlad laughed and Sam was slugged in the side again. "Do you have a girlfriend?" he asked again.
"No" he answered again. Sam was hit again. This was repeated over and over and over until Sam was gasping for breath between nos and hits.
Spike was looking at Sam. Why was he answering no all the time? Vlad apparently wanted him to answer yes. Even though he didn't have a girlfriend he should just answer yes. What was Sam doing? And why would Sam would not meet his eyes?
Then it came to him. Sam did have a girlfriend. He knew Sam was not a kiss and tell kind of guy. Hell he and Lou had tried for so long for him to give them any details and he never would. It was clear to him now Sam was trying to protect his girlfriend. Spike sure as hell hoped the girlfriend would appreciate the lengths he was willing to go to protect her.
Vlad looked to Zhang who appeared to be getting winded by all the hits he was landing. Was his intel on Sam wrong? The man kept answering no when Zhang had indicated yes. No Zhang was never wrong in his intel. He decided that he was trying to protect her.
Oh how noble and stupid he thought. He would get the answer he wanted. He pulled Zhang into the corner away from the others and whispered "Zhang, why would he keep answering no? Is there anything you failed to tell me about his girlfriend?"
Zhang thought back to everything he had observed. He was not allowed to take pictures when following the officers like he did the kids only handwritten notes so nothing could be traced via computers. "Can I go review the notes I gave you Master to see if I missed anything?" He was given permission and he ran upstairs.
Vlad went back to Sam and Spike and said "A little intermission in our game." He opened a water bottle, grabbed ahold of Spike's hair and yanked his head backwards and tilted it up. He put the bottle to Spike's lips and said "Drink."
Spike had no choice to comply and he sputtered as the water was spilled down his throat at a faster rate than he could take it in. The man poured the water in for so long that Spike inhaled some of the water when he took a breath. When the water stopped and after he finished coughing he saw the man take a drink from the same bottle. He ventured "Sam could use some water too."
"Oh could he now? I think not. He's not playing by the rules. He is not answering truthfully. Why do you think that might be?" Vlad snarled.
Spike looked to the man. It seemed more a rhetorical question than one Vlad wanted an actual answer to so Spike kept this mouth shut. Vlad turned and went up the stairs then slammed the door shut.
Concern filled Spike's eyes as he looked at Sam. He was quiet and his head hung down. God he was a bloody mess right now. Taking a chance he whispered "Sam you okay?"
Sam was trying very hard to push the pain away. He lifted his head a bit and flicked his eyes to Spike. He answered "mm k."
His brown eyes wide and pleading Spike said "Just say yes. Please. Whoever you think you are protecting they probably already know about. They are going to beat you to death you if you don't say yes. Please say yes."
"izz k. can't tell. will hurt her. won't hurt her" Sam said cryptically partially to keep the truth hidden and partially because his jaw hurt too much to talk more than a few words. He spat out more blood. He let his head drop down again and focused inward.
Sam let the here and now fade away as his mind wandered to a good memory to escape the pain. He didn't have to search far back at all. He let the memory of yesterday morning play over and over in his mind. God she was so lovely first thing in the morning. He focused on his image of her kiss swollen lips; so soft, so demanding, so perfect.
Fisheries on Port Lands
Connor had quickly brief the team on what he knew then they moved into the burnt out building looking for clues. Team One found out very quickly that Connor McGillie was not a man to mess with when the bickering agencies tried to stop them from entering the building.
He set them all straight that Interpol was in charge but Team One of the SRU would be taking the lead. That his expectation was that all agencies cooperate to the fullest extent. That there was no time for political bullshit. That the primary goal was to find two missing officers before they were brutally murdered and the Anagram Killer's body count became thirty-two.
Very quickly Ed and Wordy found a trap door that was not on the plans that opened to a dock below. Wordy found traces of blood and the arson investigator collected it and sent it off for analysis. Jules stood on the dock with Connor and said "So this Anagram Killer abducted the kids just to get Sam and Spike. Is that part of his MO?"
Connor nodded "Yes and he left the bodies and planted the bomb as a diversion to allow time to get away."
Greg asked "But how would he know that Sam and Spike would be the ones to come to the fishery?"
"My profiler believes that the partners are surveilled long enough to distinguish patterns of behaviors. You did say there were pictures of the kids that were from months ago. It is likely the officers were watched for the same length of time." Connor answered.
Climbing back up the ladder Greg was thinking. They had to leave by boat. He was wondering how to track a boat. It could have gone anywhere. At the top of the ladder he saw Team Two arriving on the scene per his request.
He went directly to Bradley "Camden I need Curtis to see if there are any surveillance cameras or anything that can could help us determine what type of boat was used. Or anything that might help us track one from here." Bradley nodded and called Curtis over and the three began discussing possibilities.
Ed had the same thought but he approached the Army Special Forces liaison "I'm Ed Lane I assume you were sent here by General Braddock."
"Yes Sir. I'm Corporal Cassandra Xenos one of the General's analysts. You can call me Cassie though. I've been instructed to help wherever I can" Cassie responded.
Ed thought the last name sounded familiar and she looked familiar too. He said would you be any relation to "Apollo, I mean Corporal Stefano Xenos?"
Cassie smiled "Yes Sir. Apollo is my twin brother. He's a Master Corporal now and still speaks highly of all of you. What can I do to help?" Ed outlined the need to try and locate the boat that left from this location. After getting details on time of day she hurried off to her vehicle to get her laptop and contact the General.
Wordy stood looking out at the water a thought came to him. He pulled out his phone and made a call to a friend in Guns and Gangs. "Hey Bill, it's me Kevin. I have a favor to ask. I know you have been doing a lot of surveillance work with the whole Black Dragons and Crimson Eagles rivalry and their gun running operations. I was wondering if you might have any ops going on in or around the Port Lands?"
He spent several minutes explaining the situation to Bill. His friend agreed to check into it and get back to him shortly. Wordy hung up and looked over to Jules. She seemed distracted, uneasy and lost.
It was clear that she needed some support. He was seeing more vulnerability from her than he had ever seen before. He wondered why, then he realized that she was alone dealing with this.
The rest of them had family to go home to and draw strength from. Ed has Sophie, Clark and baby Izzy. Greg has Dean. He has Shel and the girls. Jules had no one to go home to at night, to hold her and tell her everything would be okay.
Wordy walked up to her and put an arm around her shoulder. "We'll find them Jules. We will not rest until we do."
Jules leaned into Wordy needing a bit of strength. Connor's words made her a bit uneasy. She had seen all the photos of the kids. Were there a slew of photos of her and Sam together? If so their secret would be out. But this time, although it would hurt Jules was ready to give up Team One for Sam.
She loved all the guys but Sam was her heart and soul. She could not live without out him and refused to give him up this time. So if they, no wait, scratch that, WHEN they found him and if there were photos of them she would willingly step down from Team One for Sam.
Jules pulled back and looked up to Wordy and saw the concern in his eyes "I'll be okay as soon as we find them. I heard you talking on the phone. How long do you think it will be before Bill gets back to you? The waiting is, is …" Jules fumbled for a descriptive word.
"is hard, terrible, unbearable, unnerving" Greg completed Jules sentence as he came up to her other side and wrapped her in a hug. "We're gonna find them."
When Greg released her Ed hugged her next and told her essentially the same thing. The three guys had all arrived at the same conclusion; Jules needed their support.
Ed determined she damn well was going to get it. If they did not find Sam and Spike today he would ensure that Jules was not alone tonight. She would be going home with one of them whether she wanted to or not.
House in the Woods - Basement
Armed with his new knowledge from Zhang, he almost skipped down the stairs. He almost shot Zhang for not including that tidbit in the file. But with Saul missing he needed to keep Zhang alive to do the beatings and other things.
Vlad wasn't surprised that Zhang complained that his fists hurt. But he was surprised when he asked if he could use something else when they got started again because they hurt. He reluctantly agreed because Sam was proving more difficult than he first thought he would be.
But this little tidbit might just do the trick. Approaching the two men he saw both had their eyes closed. Vlad clapped his hands loudly and said "Intermission over; time to get started again."
Spike startled at the clap. He opened his eyes to find the evil bastard grinning again. He looked over at Sam and his head was still down. It worried him.
A hard slap to his face brought Sam back to the here and now. He despised having to leave the world he had built thinking of Jules. In his mind she had comforted him and soothed his pains. She let him lay his head in her lap while she brushed through his hair with her delicate fingers. The touch so soft and light making his head tingle.
Sam opened his eyes to the brutal real world. He gave the man a blank stare no emotion showing.
"Shall we begin again? Do you have a girlfriend?" the man asked.
"No" Sam stubbornly answered. Pain rippled through his shaking body as he was hit with the electrodes of a Taser gun.
Watching Sam's body convulse and jerk as the electricity tore through him was more than Spike could stand. He screamed "Stop it."
Vlad looked at Spike happy for his outburst. His buddy Sam would see it as a form of betrayal. He had warned him what would happen if he spoke. He waited until Sam had somewhat recovered from the shock.
Deadly serious Vlad looked at Spike and sneered "I'm a man of my word. You need to remember that. I told you exactly what would happen if you spoke during our game. This is your fault Spike." He aimed the gun and fired at Sam.
The bullet entered and exited the fleshy part of his upper right thigh and lodged into the wooden seat. Pain burned red hot along the bullet's path then shot outward both up and down his leg. Sam slammed his eyes closed and clenched his jaw hard to swallow the scream that wanted to escape. He couldn't stop the sound completely and a long, strangled, horrible groan of pain was still heard from him.
Shit he had forgotten how painful getting shot was. His jaw unclenched as his breathing started coming in short pants and gasps as pain continued to radiate from the wound. Sam tried to steady his breathing to slower, longer breaths as he felt the adrenaline starting to rush through his veins. In a moment the adrenaline would help dull the pain a bit. It couldn't come soon enough as he thought shit this hurts.
Spike's eyes teared up. Oh god what did I just do. Shit, shit, shit. He wanted to yell out I'm sorry Sam but clenched his jaw. Vlad was absolutely fucking insane. Holy shit what was he going to do. He watched as the blood started dripping on the floor. Shit Sam I'm so, so, so sorry.
Prying his eyes open Sam stared hard at Spike. He was silently willing him to look up and meet his eyes so he could understand he didn't blame him. But he could see in his expression Spike was lost in a world of his own mental pain. Spike's eyes were locked onto his wound and would not raise and meet his eyes.
He so wanted to tell Spike I'm sorry for the pain this is causing you but I cannot admit Jules is my girlfriend. I cannot risk losing her to this madman. I must protect her and keep her safe. I will not admit it even if it means my death.
Sam heard the same question again. He answered no again. He was shocked again. It repeated three more times.
Watching in silent horror as Sam continued to answer no and pay the consequences Spike felt so damned useless and helpless. He found himself getting angry at Sam for continuing to say no. But that anger was miss-directed he knew. He glared at the man pulling the Taser trigger. If he could get free he would have no qualms about killing both of those men with his bare hands if he could.
Damn this man was stubborn or well-trained or both Vlad thought. I think he would rather die than admit it. He smiled. He might be willing to die, but would he be willing to let his buddy die for a girl? Time to find out.
Vlad waited a few more minutes until the aftershocks finished running through Sam's body. He walked to Spike and placed the gun at his temple. "Sam I need you to open your eyes now and look at your buddy."
It took so much energy to open his eyes but he finally managed. He focused on Spike. No. Oh god no. He would have to choose. He knew the man would not hesitate to shoot Spike. Hell he had a bullet hole to prove that. He waited for the question unsure how he would answer now.
Spike's eyes locked onto Sam's. He was pleading for Sam to give them the answer they wanted. Then he saw the pain and indecision in Sam's eyes. The indecision he saw rocked him to the core.
For there to be indecision it meant whoever Sam was protecting was extremely important to him. All the pain Sam was willing to endure told Spike that Sam was willing to die to protect the woman. But would Sam let him die in order to protect her?
Vlad let the tension rise as he stayed quiet with the gun at Spike's head. He was excited to see if Sam would betray his buddy.
Smiling Vlad asked "What is the name of your girlfriend?"
