Chapter 9 – Captured
I don't own Voltron Legendary Defender. I'm taking the characters out for a spin. No matter how many times I tried to write this differently, my muse kept bringing me back to this. So please don't hate me.
Keith and Krolia slipped out of the building. Darkness surrounded them as they made their way toward the lot where Keith's car sat. He turned at the sound of several boots striking the ground in fast pursuit of the pair of law enforcement officials.
As he and Krolia sped up their pace, he reached into his jeans pocket and fished out his keys. "Take these," he said as he passed them over to his mother. "I'll do what I can to hold them off. You need to get out of here."
Krolia took the keys from his outstretched hand. "What about you?"
"Don't worry about me. I'll get back to the Garrison somehow. You need to get your intel to SWAT and the DEA."
Krolia gave him a quick nod as she said, "Be careful." She took off for the lot as fast as her long legs could carry her.
Keith pulled out his handgun. His hand gripped g the hard-plastic grip and turned squeezing off a shot dropping one of his pursuers. He glanced over his shoulder as he watched his mom drive away.
Turning back around, he came face to face with Zethrid. She didn't say a word as her eyes hardened. Instead, she hefted the baseball bat she carried and swung it impacting with the side of Keith's face dropping him like a sack of potatoes.
Lotor stepped up next to her. "Looks like Sendak was right and this one helped our real rat getaway," he shoved Keith's unconscious body with the toe of his boot.
"What do we do about him?" Zethrid stared down at Keith.
"Take him to the plant." Lotor held up a hand. "Don't kill him yet. Father wants to know everything he knows. He's sure he's law enforcement."
She sneered down at Keith. "This will be fun."
Shiro pulled his car into his preferred parking space. He turned off the ignition and pulled his keys out. Climbing out he was attracted by the flash of sunlight glinting off metal. He turned around as Keith's car appeared on the lot. His eyes homed onto the driver, expecting to see the man he loved as his brother behind the wheel, but it was a woman driving.
His eyes narrowed as he removed the strap securing his service revolver to his hip. Adrenaline rushed through his veins. His eyes kept her in his gaze as she parked the car in a space.
Shiro strode over to the car as his breath quickened and his stomach began to tie itself into a knot. He reached the car as she climbed out. He grabbed the top of the door with his left hand while he rested his right hand on the hard-plastic butt of his gun. "Who the hell are you and what are doing with my brothers' car."
Krolia closed her eyes for a quick moment. She opened them again. "I don't have time for this. The officer undercover within Zarkon's organization may need our help."
"What do you mean?" Shiro asked.
Krolia jabbed herself in the chest as she stared back at him and leaned forward. "I'm the one he was sent to get out of there. I have information that both SWAT and the DEA need to take down Zarkon's organization once and for all."
"What do you know about Keith?" Shiro's grip tightened. His nerves sang as his muscles bunched up.
"Keith," Krolia whispered. Her eyes widened as she mentally aged the picture she carried of her son. She carved her hands through her hair as she held it back and released it. Her arms fell to her sides.
"My son," Krolia whispered, but her words carried to Shiro's ears.
Shiro's eyes widened as he finally put her face to the pictures Keith had shown him. "Krolia?" he asked.
She nodded. "You know who I am?"
Shiro's eyes softened as he moved his hand away from his sidearm. "Yes, Keith talks of you often."
Krolia averted her gaze as she stared down at the pavement under her feet. "I wish my work didn't take me away from him," She covered her face with her hands as she dropped to her knees.
Shiro saw movement out of his peripheral vision and turned his head in the direction of a Garrison patrol officer heading in their direction. They could be terrible gossips, and he was sure Krolia wouldn't take it well for the officer spreading the story of what he saw in the lot.
Shiro stepped around the door and knelt next to Krolia. "Let's get you inside," he said as he placed his hands on her shoulders and helped her stand. "I need Keith's keys to lock his car up."
She passed them over, and Shiro shut the door and then locked it. He placed an arm around her shoulders and led her into SWAT's command building. He led her down a battleship gray hall and into a room that was the cafeteria where everyone who worked long hours could step in and make themselves something to eat. The refrigerator was stocked with water, juice, and energy drinks. Coffee was always on hand, and tea could be made in the microwave or on the stove.
A large stainless-steel table sat in the middle of the room. Shiro pulled out one of the bar stools that sat under the table. He motioned for Krolia to sit down.
"Would you like something to drink?"
"A cup of black coffee would be nice."
Shiro walked over to the cabinet that hung on the wall and opened the door. Pulling out a coffee mug, he shut the door and took the steps over to the coffee maker. He poured a cup. As Shiro placed the cup down in front of her, a slight smiled tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I can't guarantee how fresh it is."
A slight smile graced her face. "It can't be any worse than that sludge Zarkon's people drink." She gazed down at the black liquid resting in the white mug. She rolled the cup in her hands. "When Keith was little, I swore that nothing would take me away from him. But Zarkon's case came across my desk. Just reading about how many lives and families he destroyed with his poison, I couldn't let it happen again. That's when I went undercover."
She picked up the cup and took a sip as she closed her eyes and hummed with pleasure. "This is so good." She set the cup back down, and she raised her dark eyes to meet his dark gray eyes. "What did you mean when you said bother."
"Ah, you caught that. It is a long story, but I met Keith when I was a rookie on the force. I had just got out of the marines and went straight into the academy. Keith fell into a wrong crowd, but I gave him a second chance."
Krolia reached out and grasped Shiro's hand. "I'm glad you did. I know his grandfather tried, but he wasn't in the best of health when I went undercover."
"He's better. Keith checks in with Kolivan every week."
Both Krolia and Shiro held the other's hand, wishing Keith would walk in at any minute.
The cold of the floor seeped into his bones as he groaned followed by the stench of old blood that no amount of bleach could kill. His head ached along with his jaw where the bat had impacted. He blinked his eyes several times, adjusting to the semi-darkness around him.
A voice came from the darkness around him. "It's about time you woke up."
Keith tried to focus on who spoke. It took several moments for his addled brain to put a name to the voice. Lotor.
"Girls get him on his feet. You don't need to worry about being gentle."
Hands grabbed at Keith, yanking him to his feet. He blinked his eyes again as his stomach twisted and bile burned at the back of his throat. He focused on the man who spoke who sat in a chair in front of him holding a gun in his hand.
"We'll try this the easy way," Lotor's smooth voice drifted to Keith's ears. "Who are you and who do you work for."
Keith glared back at the man who liked to sit in the shadows. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do. Pity." Lotor replied. "I hoped this would go easy. I can see I was wrong again." Lotor stood rising to his full height. "We have ways of dealing with stubborn people."
Shiro and Krolia sat in Captain Allura's office. Allura closed her eyes as she replayed the verbal report in her mind. Her eyes opened. She folded her hands together on her desk but clenched her fingers together so hard that her knuckles almost turned white. "So, you are telling me that one of my officers has not returned, and that means he could be in Zarkon's hands?"
Shiro nodded, "Yes."
She stood and strode over to her window and stared out at the desert in the distance. She raised her hand and slammed it on the windowsill. "Why couldn't the DEA get you out?" she said as she whirled around eyes staring hard at the other woman in the room.
"I get it," Shiro replied from the chair he sat in, "you're angry. For that matter I'm angry too, but not at Krolia. She was trying to do good, but things got out of hand."
"Out of hand?" Allura asked as her voice rose. Her nostrils flared as her gaze turned cold and hard. "I'm so angry with myself for even allowing this to happen."
Krolia's cell phone rang. She stood up and moved away from the pair of SWAT people. Whispering with the person on the other end, she hung up the phone and turned to face the pair. "That was my CI asset within Zarkon's organization. They have Keith. Where she doesn't know. But she's going to investigate for me."
Shiro immediately shot to his feet as spots danced before his eyes. He reached out and grasped the arm of the chair to steady himself as adrenaline raced through his bloodstream. "I've got to see Pidge. She inserted a miniature tracker into his arm. She might have a location."
"Who is Pidge?" Krolia asked.
"Our tech expert," he replied as he took two quick steps to Krolia's side and grasped her arm. "Let's go," he said, not giving her a chance to say no.
Keith shivered as the cold concrete chilled his body. He rested on his knees with his arms over his head. His wrists zip-tied together, and zip-tied to a meat hook. His body was littered with blossoming bruises along with several places where the skin had split over his ribs on his sides.
Zethrid had enjoyed delivering the pain to him. To anyone looking at him, he appeared semi-conscious as his mind worked to figure out a way to get out of this predicament.
Where was he going to run to clad in only his boxers? What would Shiro do? He mumbled to himself as he heard bootheels striking the concrete heading his way. Voices came from the same direction.
He recognized the gruff voice as belonging to Zethrid. "Why don't we just kill him and get it over with?"
"Because of my father," a sigh reached Keith's ears. Was this discontent coming from one of Lotor's troops? Maybe he could use it to his advantage.
Lotor spoke again. "We've had this discussion before. You and Ezor find something to do. I've got to persuade our guest to tell me who he is."
Keith had no idea what was in store for him next as Lotor strode into the room looking like the cat that ate the canary.
Lotor glanced over at the SWAT officer. "I know this is a crude way of torture, but I do need to know who you are and who you work for. That is before my father loses his patience. His form of torture is even cruder and uglier."
He pulled a long strip of leather from his pocket and dipped it into a bucket of water that sat nearby. He turned to face Keith as he pressed a button on the wall next to him which activated the hydraulic wench which raised the chain pulling the SWAT officer up to his feet. Lotor pressed a second button stopping it.
Lotor stared at him. "You know, just before a man dies his pride vanishes."
Keith glared back. "Big talk, but your still scum just like your father, Zarkon." His voice cracked from his thirst.
Lotor chuckled. "I suppose coming from you I should take that as a compliment. But we'll see what you have to say in about a half an hour," as his upper lip slid back. He closed the distance between himself and Keith, raised his arm and threw it forward. The leather strap slapped into the prisoner's back.
Keith closed his eyes, grit his teeth together and clamped his lips shut as his body jerked as the improvised lash bit into his skin. There was no way he was going to give Lotor the pleasure of hearing him scream. He waited for his chance, and as Lotor moved around him, hitting other areas on his body, he found his opportunity. Keith faked a stumble and slammed his arm into Lotor's chest, hoping that was enough pressure to activate the S.O.S. feature of the tracker in his arm.
Lotor shoved him off to the side and continued with the lashing.
Shiro with Krolia in tow rushed into the smallest member of his teams' lab. "Pidge, do you have a location on Keith?" he asked as he lost some of his ability to concentrate and his body tingled hoping that her answer was yes.
Pidge shook her head. "No, I lost his signal," she replied as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm sorry, Shiro," she said, but then her eyes grew as a dot flashed on her screen. "Wait! The S.O.S. ping just went off. I have his location," she crowed.
Commander Iverson, drawn by the commotion, asked, "Have a location on who or what?"
Shiro turned to face him. "Keith."
Iverson stared back at Shiro now came the risky part. "How do you plan on getting him out without him being killed?"
Shiro crossed his arms over his chest. "Pidge, bring up the specs for that building."
Pidge did as she was told. She focused in on the building in question. "It's an abandoned slaughterhouse," she said as she stared at the blueprints on her screen.
Rax, Griffin, Hunk, and Lance joined them. They stared at the map. Lance leaned over to Rax, "Lot's of in's and out's."
Rax nodded as he pointed at the screen. "Lot's of places to hide."
Lance glanced around the room at the others. "They'll be on the doors. If we go in too hot," he let what he was going to say unsaid, but Shiro knew what he meant.
Shiro studied the floor plan. "We breach from the roof and get the drop on them."
Iverson placed his hands on his hips. He couldn't deny it was a sound plan. "I'll have Matt's team set up a net outside. They'll catch anyone trying to make a break for it. Your team runs breach and recovery. Let's get our man back."
Shiro turned his gaze to his team. "Let's move." He glanced at Krolia, who nodded his way, but her eyes spoke volumes. They said for him to bring her son home.
Pidge stopped, and Shiro had to put on the breaks to keep from trampling his tech expert. She turned to face him. "Do I still get stuck with the non-lethal rounds?"
Shiro to his credit didn't sigh or grip the bridge of his nose. "We've had this discussion before, and the answer is still no. Besides, I don't want to come face to face with your mother. That woman is scary when she's angry."
Pidge shuddered. "Don't I know it."
Hunk using a metal vapor torch cut through the metal grate that covered a shaft leading down into the slaughterhouse. As he finished cutting through one side, Rax grabbed the grill to hold it steady as Hunk continued cutting through the metal.
Lance let out a low chuckle. "That thing looks like a lightsaber."
Hunk released his soft laugh at Lance's comment. He cut through the last slat of the metal grate, and Rax pulled the grill up and moved it to the side out of their way.
Pidge secured the black rope she carried onto a nearby pipe. She used the line to lower herself down the shaft to the floor below.
Once everyone on the team was in the slaughterhouse, Shiro tapped Rax on the shoulder. He motioned toward the hall.
Rax nodded as the others filed out, each member covering each other's backs. They split up into teams of two. Shiro and Lance, Hunk and Griffin, Pidge and Rax. Each team member crept through the hall none of them daring to make a sound.
Hunk and Griffin moved down a hallway with ceramic tile lining the walls which you would find in a bathroom shower. A man stepped out of one of the rooms. He stopped and turned his head, but before he could shout out, a warning, Hunk squeezed off a shot felling him.
Rax and Pidge stepped into another area finding an unbelievable sight. Two women were throwing what looked like pieces of bricks at two men. One of the men ran for a gun as his eye locked onto Rax.
The Swat officer took him down with three shots.
The larger of the two women turned to aim her piece of brick at Rax. Pidge squeezed off several rounds taking the large female down.
The smaller one dropped her brick and held up her hands.
Hunk and Griffin attracted by the gunshots moved toward the area where Rax and Pidge were. Griffin saw a man trying to sneak up behind Hunk with a knife in his hand.
Griffin came up behind him and shoved the business end of his rifle in the man's back and yelled, "Drop it now! Down on your knees!"
Hunk spun around alerted by Griffin's voice. A gust of air broke through his mouth as heard and saw the knife fall to the concrete floor with a metallic clatter. "Thanks, man."
Shiro with Lance behind him turned a corner. His jaw clamped together as he saw the scene before him. At this point, he wanted to get his hands on Lotor and rip the man apart. Instead, he pushed his feelings down and did his job. "Garrison PD SWAT," he announced as loud as possible.
Lotor's head shot up as his eyes grew. He spun around and ran like a rabbit trying to escape a fox. Lance yelled, "I got him, Shiro. Check on Keith!"
Lance raced after Lotor down the hallway and brought his rifle up. His aim was true as he squeezed off a shot hitting Lotor in the ass.
Lotor stumbled and fell as Lance reached him. "Stay down!" he ordered.
Lotor craned his head around glaring up at the SWAT officer. "Did you have to shoot me there?"
Lance chuckled as he straddled the other man and pulled out a pair of cuffs and slapped the bracelets on Lotor's wrists. "Would you rather I put one in the back of your head?"
"I suppose you have a point."
"Keith," Shiro whispered as he rushed over to his second in command. He pulled out his tactical knife and slipped it through the binding on Keith's wrists severing the plastic zip ties while making sure he didn't touch the younger man's skin.
Keith's body sagged as he started to fall. Shiro caught him as he knelt beside his brother cradling him in his arms.
Keith's head rested on Shiro's chest as he groaned. One eye was nearly swollen shut as he whispered, "You found me."
Shiro's voice was soft as he replied. "Yeah, I've got you, buddy." He was forced to blink his eyes several times to fight back the moisture that began to collect.
Keith sucked in air as he fought back the pain and raised himself up a little bit. "I didn't talk, Shiro. I didn't tell them anything."
"You did good," Shiro replied. "Rest now."
Shiro got onto his radio, "We've got Keith. Are you good?"
Rax's voice came over speaking into the bud that rested in Shiro's ear. "I have two women in custody, along with several casualties, but we're good."
Lance's voice came over the radio next. "I have Lotor in custody. But he's not happy about it."
Shiro chuckled as he heard Lotor's voice in the background. "You wouldn't be happy either with a bullet in your ass."
"Serves you right," Lance replied.
"Lance we need medical for Keith. Put a rush on it," Shiro replied.
