A/N: Sorry, Auto correct was misspelling and not catching certain things. I've adjusted that for this chapter (hopefully) but haven't gone back to change the others yet. Just a heads up.
Also, thank you SOOO much for the awesome reviews! They really motivate me to keep going.
Dean didn't know how long he was out. A day? A week? Longer? All he remembered was that after the third shock from the car battery, he had finally slipped into sweet unconsciousness. When he woke up, he was still hanging painfully from his wrists. The soreness in his arms and hands was enough to make him wish he could cut them off as they were not meant to hold his body weight for such an extended period of time. He knew if he got out of this, they would be almost useless.
Thankfully, at least he was alone. There was no Sheamus to taunt him, no Hunter to berate him, and no one to hurt him. At least, for now. He took stock of his injuries other than his arms. The headache and blurry vision were clear signs of a concussion, he was pretty sure he had one or two broken ribs,and his shoulder was definitely dislocated. The electric shocks had left a strange taste in his mouth that worried him, but he couldn't let any of his injuries get the better of him. He still had to concentrate on getting out of here and getting to Abby. God only knew what they were doing to her. He shuddered at the thought.
He was brought out of his thoughts when the sound of a door opening drew his attention. For a moment he contemplated playing unconscious in hopes they would just leave him alone to think of an escape. He knew he wasn't that lucky.
Sheamus stepped into view dragging Abby with him. Dean couldn't help the flip in his stomach when she appeared visibly unharmed save for the small cut below her left cheekbone. "Dean!" She cried out at the sight of him.
"Abby! Are you alright?" He responded as he struggled futility.
Sheamus had a tight grip on her arm and pulled her back as she tried to get to Dean. "Hold it, girly." He said with a wicked smirk. "You've had it easy so far, but if you don't start cooperating you'll end up like him."
"Let her go you son of a bitch!" Dean yelled.
Sheamus did just that and she ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him close. He buried his head in her shoulder as much as his position would allow and breathed her in. She took his face in her hands and looked him over with concerned eyes. "What have they done to you?"
"I'll be alright." He said with a weak, unconvincing smile. "I'll get you out of here, I promise."
She smiled at him and pressed her lips against his for a passionate, desperate kiss. He wished he could hold her, wrap his arms around her and shield her from all of this. It's the way he felt about her from the beginning. At first he didn't understand why he felt so protective of her and he equated it with some sort of need to protect the weak. Now he realized that he didn't just like her, he loved her. It was love at first sight, something he never believed in until now.
She broke the kiss and as their eyes met he knew she felt the same. She loved him back. What a strange turn of events. "Let me save you for once." She whispered with a grin.
"That's enough!" Sheamus yelled, pulling Abby away from Dean. "Maybe now you'll be more cooperative when Hunter asks you a question...both of you!"
The Irishman pulled Abby behind him as he exited the warehouse, yelling back at Dean that he would return shortly to continue their chat. But Dean had other ideas, thanks to that kiss. Her ulterior motive was clear when she slipped something into his mouth. He saw her pickpocket the handcuff key from Sheamus. She had slipped it into her own mouth when she hugged him and passed it to him through the kiss.
"Abby, you beautiful genius." He thought.
Now here came the hard part. He was going to have to lift himself up so he could relieve the pressure from his hands enough to uncuff himself. This was going to hurt...a lot.
He had to try and quiet the grunts and cries of pain as he took a hold of the chain with his weak hands and attempted to lift his legs, failing miserably and coming back down hard on his shoulders, aggravating them. He had to try again. This time he managed to wrap a leg around the chain above him and immediately used his other leg to strengthen the hold, releasing all pressure from his hands and shoulders. He had to take a few moments to steady his breath through the pain, but he did it. He took the key from his mouth and quickly uncuffed one wrist, then the other.
He tried to lower himself back down, but his arms couldn't hold him for long and he slipped, landing on his back and knocking the air from his lungs. "Fuck!" He managed to cough out through the excruciating pain in his back and ribs. If they weren't broken before, they definitely were now.
He couldn't worry about that now. Somehow he pulled himself to his feet and hobbled to the door Sheamus had previously entered from and pulled on the latch...unlocked. He smiled and slipped through. First things first, he had to find Abby.
Seth knew they were screwed but didn't bring himself to really care as he steered the stolen helicopter to the gps coordinates Roman had managed to triangulate through the video. All he could think was the phrase 'we're coming Dean' over and over again. A quick glance at his partners face told him that the large Samoan felt the same way as he checked the clips in his pockets. Seth had to hand it to him, dressed head to toe in tactical gear and his partner was the picture of badass with a mission.
"How much longer?" Roman asked as he pocketed the last clip and took stock of the weapons attached to every hook and pocket on his person.
Seth glanced at the GPS. "ETA 10 minutes. We're going to have to land a few miles away and go the rest on foot, otherwise we'll announce our presence to everyone who we don't want to have that information."
Roman nodded his understanding and looked at Seth, taking in the concerned crease of his brow and the way he was nervously chewing on his bottom lip. "He'll be alright."
"I know." Seth said, though, based on that video, he wasn't really convinced Dean wasn't already dead. All he could be sure of was that the Lunatic Fringe got his Codename thanks to his tenacity, smarts, and ability to keep everyone guessing. If he was dead, he definitely put up one hell of a fight first.
Seth spotted a clearing large enough in the forest surrounding the warehouse they were keeping Dean to land the helicopter and not be noticed. He easily touched down and cut the engine to the large machine. They would have to walk about two miles, but he was positive they wouldn't have been seen.
Roman jumped out first, followed by Seth. He took in the heavily armed Samoan and realized his gear was so much smaller. But Seth preferred to keep light on his feet, carrying a few handguns and several knives hidden on his person. He wasn't the muscle, that was Roman, the big dog's job. He wasn't the unpredictable one, that was on Dean. He was the Architect, cunning and quiet. They really complimented each other in a way that earned them their nickname, The Shield.
Now, The Shield was going to war for one of their own. He knew they would have to use all their training.
Roman again looked to Seth, "You ready for this?"
"As I'll ever be."
