********** This chapter contains extreme violence and scenes of torture **********
Danny pulled up to Rachel's and made his way to the front door. It opened as he neared and Rachel stepped outside to greet him. She kissed his cheek and said nothing, she simply held him. He instantly melted in her arms and she guided him into the house. Danny Williams was a tough man but he was also an emotional man, and no one knew that side of him better than Rachel. They sat quietly on the couch in the living room for several minutes before Danny spoke.
"Rachel…..I can't believe he's gone. Oh God he's gone"
"Danny, I'm so sorry. Steven was such a good man and a dear friend….I'm so sorry"
"I tried Rachel, I tried so hard to give him a reason to stop. Ohhh GGod….wwhy couldn't hhe stop?" The tears again began to flow and Rachel took his hands into hers.
"What are you talking about Danny? Stop what?"
"The search honey…..his obsessive search for Wo-Fat….now it's killed him. I tried to get him to stop, I tried"
"I know you did…..he loved you Danny. You and Gracie. He loved both, you know that"
"And I loved him. God Rachel…he was a special man. He did so much for this country, and for what? Damn it Rach for what?"
"He was a hero Danny"
"And what did it get him Rachel? He's dead…he's fucking dead"
"He saved so many lives. He did so much good"
"He was a tortured soul Rachel. He told me things about his missions. Every man he lost haunted him honey. He had nightmares of them dying in his arms, again and again….At first he wouldn't tell me anything, everything was 'classified'. God I can't tell you how much I hate that word. Do you remember the case I told you about a couple of years ago, the young Navy SEAL who snapped and killed his girlfriend?"
"Yes…and Steve killed him"
"Uh huh….he didn't have a choice. The kid was about to kill two teenage hostages, he didn't have a choice. It sure messed with his mind though baby. For a week we watched him grow more withdrawn and it was obvious that he wasn't sleeping well. He was edgy and overly sensitive. I couldn't get him to talk to me, he just kept saying he was sorry. That Friday night he called me at about one in the morning. He was smashed out of his mind and he kept rambling about Jack. How it was his fault that Jack was dead and how he didn't deserve to be alive. Then…he started sobbing and apologizing for exposing me and Gracie to the dangers of 5-0. He told me he couldn't take it anymore, that he was tired of all the killing. Also that he was fed up with all the justification that took place with the killings. He said it was time for him to take responsibility for his sins"
"Oh God Danny….it sounds like…."
Danny interrupted her, "Like he was planning on killing himself. Yeah….it did. I was so damn scared racing to his house. When I was about halfway there his phone went dead. I found him on the beach, passed out cold. I woke him up but he was too fucked up to talk. I helped him into the house, practically carrying the big lug. Halfway up the yard he started puking all over both of us. You know something, it was almost like Gracie puke"
Rachel grinned, ""What do you mean?"
"You know…when your child pukes on you, it's no big deal. You clean up and you take care of her. That's kind of how I felt that night. He was family and he was hurting. Honestly, I was just so damn happy that he was alive…..oh God Rachel…..oh God"
Danny's body shook as again tears wracked his body. Rachel pulled him to her chest and tenderly kissed his forehead and his eyes as she wiped the tears from his cheeks.
As he began to settle slightly she eased his head down onto her lap, and he curled his exhausted body onto the couch. They sat silently as Rachel stroked her ex's hair lovingly. Eventually Danny continued, "I got him upstairs that night and into the shower. I'd never seen him so out of it. He just kept mumbling about Jack and that he was so sorry. I just got him into boxers and into his bed and he was out instantly"
"Who's Jack?"
"Well after I showered I fell asleep in a chair next to his bed. A little after four in the morning I woke up to Steve screaming"
Rachel was wearing shorts and she felt Danny's tears dampen her thigh as he continued softly, "I jumped up onto the bed and grabbed his upper arms, which was a huge mistake. He was having a flashback of a mission and when I grabbed him, in his delirium he attacked me. Before I even knew it I was on the ground and Steve's hands were around my neck. He was so fucking strong Rach and the only thing that saved my life was that I was able to choke out his name a couple of times. He finally realized who I was and he stopped….but it was close Rac. He pulled off of me and he was rocking back and forth on his knees. He was shaking and sobbing and repeating the name Jack over and over again. I helped him back onto the bed and without looking at me he told me about Jack Lynch. It happened on a mission Steve led six months before transitioning to 5-0. They were in in South Africa. They were sent to assassinate the head of a drug cartel who was plotting to overthrow the Government. Steve and Jack were captured along with two other SEALS, Joel Piecher and Carlos Rivera. Joel was killed instantly and they cartel thugs beat Carlos to death in front of Steve and Jack. Over the next few hours they were beaten as well. And then the drug lord came into the tent…" Danny paused briefly, "God Rachel…what he did to them…..he made them play Russian Roulette Rach. The man was fucking sadistic. Steve said that Jack was terrified, and shaking….."
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Danny described the horrific torture to Rachel as Steve had described it to him.
Steve and Jack were alone in the tent sitting across from each other at a small wooden table. Their feet were shackled to their chairs, their wrists handcuffed and on the table before them. They were alone in the tent for a few minutes and Steve spoke firmly to his young charge who was on his first SEAL mission, "Lynch, you stay strong. No matter what happens you stay strong. You're a SEAL and a damn good one. Whatever they throw at you, you can handle it…..you can handle it. Our team will be here soon but don't stop looking for a way out of here you hear me?"
"Yes sir, I hear you sir"
Steve had endured many horrible things in his years of service but even he wasn't prepared for what came through that tent entrance.
Dineo Rostoll entered the tent with four of his henchmen. The four men stood next to Steve and Jack, guns pointed to their heads. Rostoll unlocked the men's cuffs as he spoke angrily, "The United States of America needs to learn not to mettle into the affairs of our Country. Two of your team are dead and now you will tell me, are there others?"
Steve's steely gaze met Rostoll's as he responded, "There are no others, just the four of us"
His answer was greeted with the blow of a rifle butt to his cheek and jaw. Rostoll then pulled out a gun and Steve watched on in horror as Rostoll opened the chamber of the pistol and placing a single bullet into it, he spun it closed.
Steve's eyes focused on Jack. He saw the sheer terror in the twenty three year olds eyes as they locked on each other.
Rostoll put the gun on the table in front of Jack stating coldly, "You first kid"
"What?...Nno I ccan't"
One of the thugs struck Jack's temple with his rifle as Steve hollered, "STOP, you son-of-a-bitch. Let me talk to him"
Another one of the thugs yelled back, "Let me take care of this….this child Dineo!"
Steve called out to Jack, "Lynch, remember what I told you son. Look at me….look at me" Their eyes met and Steve continued "Jack, it's going to be alright. These fucking bastards are too weak and pathetic to take us on like men"
Dineo grinned as his brother Martin again brought his gun down across Steve's cheek opening up a deep, bloody gash.
Steve's eyes opened focusing on the gun as Rostoll set it in front of him. "So Commander you can show your man how this is done"
Steve picked up the gun and with no hesitation and a steely determination he placed the barrell to his temple and pulled the trigger. As the hollow click of the empty chamber sounded, Steve drew in a deep breath and exhaled. His jaw has tight, his body tense.
Rostoll took the gun from Steve and again placed it in front of Jack. Rostoll placed his gun under Jack's chin lifting his face up. "So are you a man or a boy?"
Steve spoke firmly to the young man, "Jack, it's okay…..you can do this"
"Sir…..I can't"
"You can….and you will soldier, do you hear me? You have to do this, at least you'll have a chance to survive…..do it Jack"
"Sir…."
"LYNCH, I need you to trust me…..do it son"
Jack Lynch raised the gun to his temple. His hand was shaking uncontrollably and his eyes never left Steve as he pulled the trigger…
***** MORE TO FOLLOW *****
