Sorry it took longer than I thought to finish this chapter. But this week's episode inspired me, so I'm going to try to finish this one in a reasonable amount of time. I hope there are still some readers out there...
Also, if you're interested, I'm writing a Star Wars/Avengers crossover story with Riter's Fury under the name "Shakespeare's Fury." You can find it on my favorites page.
Chapter Eight "It Ends Tonight"
"When darkness turns to light, it ends tonight... Just a little insight will make this right. It's too late to fight. It ends tonight."~All American Rejects
Jenna and Steve sat in the back of the Jeep as they drove into the North Korean jungle. In the front, Joe sat with their local driver. The noise of the engine and the tires on the dirt road prevented any conversation from front to back, and for most of the ride, Jenna was too nervous to make small talk. Steve was trying to focus on the task ahead, but there were so many other more banal concerns on his mind, and he couldn't seem to get rid of them as they drove further into the dense forest.
Steve had done a pretty good job of disguising it up until now, but he was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with this situation. It wasn't as if he had another choice, or so he kept telling himself, but he was out of practice for things like this. The most dangerous thing he had done lately was disarm a guy with a wrench who had the coordination of a drunken cow.
Steve refocused his attention on the mission. He still knew what he was doing, and hopefully, the exchange would be quick and painless. But when did anything in his life turn out that way?
Steve first noticed the hostage couldn't have been Jenna's fiance as soon as the brought him off the truck. Joe seemed to notice too. They tried to back away quickly, but that's when the shooting started. Steve shoved Jenna down on the ground and told her to hide under the Jeep. Their driver was killed first. Joe got into the driver's seat while he was methodically firing his gun at their opponents. Steve was on the other side, ducking behind the door of the Jeep.
"We gotta get out of here," he said.
"Get the girl up here, and we will," Joe replied.
"Can you cover us?"
"Oh, yeah."
Steve pulled Jenna up again and pushed her toward the car. He didn't have to tell her to hurry. She climbed into the back, trying to stay as low as possible. Steve was about to get in too when he heard someone behind him. He barely turned around before the stock of a rifle hit the side of his jaw. He fell to the ground, vision blurring. He saw dress shoes and the cuffs of black slacks. He heard voices he couldn't make out.
Steve tried to shake of the disorientation and felt a sharp pain blazing across the left side of his face. He heard and felt the Jeep moving away. He did not understand. Until he looked up.
He had only seen that face once before, but it was not one he would ever forget. It was the source of all this nightmares and the cause of his self-imposed banishment. It was the biggest threat to his family, and at this moment, probably the cause of Steve's death.
"I knew you would come," Wo Fat said.
"You set this whole thing up," Steve replied. Talking hurt.
"It was too easy. You may have turned one of my key operators against me, but I managed to use your friend against you without anyone the wiser."
"Yeah, yeah. You're brilliant. I'm guessing there's some reason you want me here besides to kill me."
"Why's that?"
"Because you haven't done it yet."
"Perceptive. But I think you know exactly what I want."
"Sorry. I have no idea. I know I kinda made a mess of things for you back in Hawaii, but haven't you more than gotten back at me for that?"
"This isn't about your pathetic islands. Or your family. Or even Victor Hesse, who will get what's coming to him eventually. This is about Shelburne."
"What's that?"
"I had a feeling you would be difficult." Wo Fat raised his head and shouted something in Korean. A couple of men from the truck came and lifted Steve to his feet.
From this angle, Steve could see that Joe and Jenna were long gone. He was grateful for that at least, though, he strongly suspected he would not be coming out of this one alive.
H-5-O
Danny was about ready to kill someone. Not that he didn't normally feel that way with his "partner," but this was beyond the pale. How could she be so stupid? How could she put Steve in danger like this? Yes, Danny was angry. But he was also worried. About Steve, about Jenna, about everything. He was worried about not getting there in time. Because he was going, that was not up for debate. It was just the getting there and getting Steve out that was the problem. He couldn't do it alone of course. He had already been in contact with Steve's former commander. Joe was the one who called Danny with the news after Steve had been taken by Wo Fat.
Danny thought about the implications as he sat on a plane with Chin and Eric. Steve was now at the mercy of the man who had nearly killed McKenzie. The man who did kill Kyle Carpenter and Laura Hills and Steve's parents. He had sent Victor Hesse to kill Steve once before. There was no question the man was dangerous, but what he wanted was something else entirely. If he just wanted Steve dead, he would have killed him right out, not taken him hostage. There must have been something else.
Kono hadn't wanted Danny to go. Or she wanted to come too. He wasn't quite sure which. It was a challenge to find a babysitter when you wanted to run off to North Korea for an impromptu rescue mission. Also, considering they could all go to prison for what they were about to do, someone had to stay behind in case things went bad. There were many sacrifices Danny was willing to make for Steve, but leaving his son to fend for himself was not one of them.
They hadn't actually talked about it, but Kono seemed to agree with Danny, even though she didn't like it. She never asked him not to go. She never said she would come too. Of course, part of him really wanted her there. The team was off as it was with Steve gone for so long, but now they would be two members less, because Danny figured Jenna wouldn't be very useful in this situation.
What was most surprising about all this was that Eric had immediately volunteered to come with them. It might have had something to do with him wanting to help Jenna, but Steve was the one in trouble here, and Eric had never met him. Maybe the guy was that dedicated to the team, or maybe he was just crazy. Danny didn't really care at this point.
The long plane ride passed in silence. Eric played games on his phone, and Chin pretended to sleep. Danny was restless, and he knew he was probably driving his companions crazy with the way he couldn't sit still. But that was a challenge under normal circumstances, and considering that his best friend was in mortal danger and/or dead, Danny felt that he was handling things very well.
They landed in Saigon and were met outside the airport by Jenna and Joe White. Jenna seemed to be about to speak when Danny put up his hand.
"I'm not talking to you right now," he said. Then he looked at Joe. "What's the situation?"
Joe narrowed his eyes at Danny. "Not too good," he said. "But we should talk about this somewhere more private."
Danny nodded. "Let's go."
Introductions could wait.
H-5-O
To call it an interrogation would be a lie. To call it torture would be accurate but oversimplified. It was frantic, desperate, and it was a foreign feeling for Steve not to know the information he was being tortured over. In some ways, it was easier when he did know because he had a reason to fight it. This was just agonizing chaos with no meaning or end in sight.
Steve was practiced in the art of interrogation. Both sides. He knew how to ignore the pain and fear of never making it out alive. But at that moment, the most pressing issue on his mind was the very fact that he needed to live. He had left without saying goodbye to McKenzie. He might never see his daughter again. Those thoughts scared him more than he would have ever thought possible. He recalled the nightmares that had terrified him before Lucy was born. This was worse. This was real.
Finally, there was a lull of blows and burning, the inevitable exchange of threats and empty shouting.
"I'm going to ask you again—"
"Don't bother," Steve interrupted between haggard breaths. "Answer's still the same."
"Why are you protecting him?" Wo Fat sounded genuinely curious. "Surely getting back to your family must be more important than any other loyalty."
"Shelburne is a person?" Steve saw the tiny flicker of surprise in Wo Fat's eyes. "What'd he do to you?"
Steve expected the fist to his face that sent him spinning as he dangled from the thick chains. But he couldn't help laughing a little as he spit blood onto the grimy, wet floor.
"I never heard of him until today. Maybe if you tell me what happened, I can help you."
"You think this is a game, don't you?" Wo Fat moved closer to Steve's face. "One where you win if you can outwit me? Where you walk away if you just hold out long enough?" He shook his head and smiled—not a happy smile, a decidedly unhappy smile. "You are not going to walk away from this if I don't get what I want."
Steve smirked in spite of the thought that walking away was a very unlikely outcome under any circumstances. "And what if I'm telling the truth, huh? What then? What if I can't give you what you want?"
"I would be very surprised, and you are trying to distract me again." Wo Fat shifted on his heels.
"No," Steve said. "I'm actually trying to figure out how I get out of this alive. I'm not seeing any viable options here."
"Tell me where Shelburne is, and you're free to go back to your family."
Steve tilted his head to the side. He couldn't help thinking how nice that sounded. But it didn't change anything. "I don't know. You can threaten me all you want; nothing's gonna change that."
Wo Fat twisted the instrument of torture in his hands. "You are very stubborn."
"I've heard that before, but no one has ever called me a liar. If I did know, I would just refuse to tell you. Probably. Since I don't know, this whole interrogation is one massive waste of time."
"If one of your suspects told you that, would you believe him?" Wo Fat raised his eyebrows.
"If I chained him to the ceiling and jabbed him with a cattle prod—which I wouldn't do—and he still said he didn't know, I think I would believe him. It's not worth dying for, whatever it is."
Wo Fat appeared to be thinking for a moment. "Perhaps you need some time to think about it," he said. "And an alternate source of persuasion."
