Hey guys, it's Mitch here. I've got some bad news today. For those of you who don't know, I am HipsterMaybe's boyfriend and we live together. You see, she has a very severe mold allergy and yesterday when we stopped by her grandmother's, we had to go out to her shed to grab the snow blower. Her grandmother hadn't been out there in years and she didn't know that that it had gotten so moldy. We were able to get her inhaler before her throat totally closed up, but she was coughing all day and all night. She was having a lot of trouble breathing today and she did have a high fever, so I took her in to get checked out and the doctor said she has pneumonia. She's going to stay overnight and hopefully I can take her home tomorrow. She has already finished several chapters of this story and saved them on her laptop, so I'll put them out when I can. To all of you who read this who are religious, if you could keep her in your prayers, it would mean a lot. It's hard to see her like this so soon after her issues with last month's surgery. She has been put on some strong antibiotics, so with some rest she should be able to kick this pretty fast!

Thank you for your support and understanding,

Mitch

As he hung there, the pain in his head and his limbs faded as guilt and anger became the only thing he could feel. Steve. What had they done to him? What were they doing to him right now? And what in the hell was he supposed to do? He had seen the runaway doctor's notes and they shook him to his core. The moment he had heard the tall man talk, he should have known that this was related. The doctor who had fled factory had spoken German. His noted were written in the same language. Danny was not fluent, but he knew enough to feel sick at what they had discovered. He hung his head. It was either remain silent and allow Steve and probably himself to be tortured to death, or give up the location of the notes and be executed regardless. He had no illusions about being freed after talking. He has drawn from his dark dilemma as the door crashed open and Steve was thrown into a chair in front of him. He gasped when he saw his friend. The once strong and invincible man was now only a shell of his former self. Dull eyes were unfocused and uncomprehending as they tried to find Danny. There was no part of his visible skin that wasn't bruised, burned, or cut. Blood ran down the side of his head from a deep cut at his temple. His breathing was shallow and quick, yet raspy and weak. His unbuttoned shirt revealed a grotesque patchwork of bruises. More disturbing, however, was the angry red gashed that crisscrossed his chest. The whip had carved deep furrows into flesh and they were undoubtedly infected by now.

"My demands were simple, Detective. Now you see the consequences of your silence. The Commander here was good fun, so I will save him for another round. Consider this," he said, gesturing to the broken man beside him. "a preview of what shall happen if you maintain you silence. Now tell me, where are the doctor's notes?" Danny looked at Steve, who appeared to be unconscious, then took a deep breath.

"No." One word. The tall man's eyes glittered dangerously. Then, there was pain, more intense than he could have ever imagined.

H

5

0

Chin's car screeched to a halt in Steve's driveway. His fear dialed up a few notches when he saw the truck door open as well as the front door, but no sign of either Steve or Danny. He glanced at Kono, then the pair drew their weapons and ran into the house. Their breath was stolen as they took in the sight before them. The house was a mess. They heard a noise from the living room. Steve was sitting on floor, head between his knees. Stowing their guns, they ran to their leader's side.

"Steve? Steve! Can you hear me?" Chin asked. There was no reply. He quickly motioned for Kono to sweep the rest of the house in case Danny was somewhere in a similar state. While he waited for Kono to return, he tried to asses Steve's condition. Racing heartbeat, quick and shallow breaths, heavily perspiring, pale skin, dizziness, and shaking. Chin couldn't think of a single explanation, so he called for an ambulance. Kono returned moments later.

"No sign of Danny, but it looks like one hell of a fight happened here. How is he?" She asked, worriedly crouching down beside Steve. Chin shook his head.

"I don't know. I've called for backup and an ambulance." Another minute passed in silence before Steve's breathing evened out slightly. Noticing the change immediately, Chin tried once more to get his friend's attention.

"Steve? Are you with me?" Silence, then a careful nod. "Ambulance is on its way, but I need you to tell me what's wrong."

"I don't know. Dizzy…DANNY!" He yelled, suddenly remembering his missing partner. He tried to stand, but wavered instantly. If his team mates hadn't been there, he would've had a very harsh reunion with the floor.

"Whoa whoa whoa, easy boss. Just take it easy. C'mon, let's get you sitting down." Kono soothed gently. They carefully steered Steve over to the couch and set him down.

"Steve, can you tell me what happened? Where's Danny?" Chin asked.

"I don't know! Yesterday I went for a run and I guess I lost track of time 'cause when I got back it was dark and raining, but Danny said I had been home all night. I didn't remember. Danny thought I was having blackouts or something. When he went to take Grace back to Rachel's today, he told me to take it easy, so I just went back to bed. I was so tired. Then I just woke up out in the truck. The front door was open and it looked like there had been a fight here. I looked all over, but I couldn't find Danny. I know he was here 'cause the Camaro's out front. I..I think someone took him!" Chin and Kono shared dark looks.

"Okay," Chin said gently, pulling himself together first. "I'm going to stay here and coordinate with HPD and CSU. Kono, when the ambulance gets here, let's get Steve checked out. Have the hospital take some blood tests too. These 'blackouts' seem a little too convenient." She nodded. Moments later, the blaring sirens roared up to the house. With a worrying lack of opposition, Steve was loaded into the back and taken away.

H

5

0

When the tall man, Weider, as Danny had learned, left, Danny was left to hang from the ceiling, his toes barely touching the cement below. He was awake, but the numbness of passing out would have been a mercy at this point. He doubted even his own mother could recognize him in this state. He had screamed until he had no voice left with which to force the vocalized pain out of his body. He could feel blood, warm and wet, flowing from various wounds. Something in his chest was broken and anything above the shallowest of breaths hitched and sent waves of indescribable agony throughout him. He wanted so desperately to let the blackness take him and his pain with it, but he remained aware. He tried to shut out the cruel replay of the past hours, but every blow, burn, and slice was relived for him with awful clarity. And yet, he had remained silent. Danny was a simple man in his mind, who did his best to protect the innocent. He had no illusions that he was a hero and he did not consider himself to be brave or noble. But this…no. Staying silent wasn't about any of that. He had seen those notes, hand written by the Angel of Death himself. How they gotten into America, he did not know and he didn't want to know. Danny knew that if he talked, he would be resurrecting an evil that should have died long ago. If he talked, there was no telling how many innocent souls would be ripped from what they knew and killed in the most horrible way imaginable. He had to stay silent. Danny knew the stakes, but that did nothing to ease his conscience. The screams of his brother still echoed in his ears.