I Was There
This chapter is told from Don's POV.
The door creaked open and slammed shut, immediately waking Don from his light slumber. He had been trying to conserve strength for the battle that he knew was to ensue. He looked towards the door and noticed that the man who had spoken earlier, the man who was obviously in charge, had walked in and was staring at him.
Don looked over at Charlie and noticed that his brother was still asleep. He quickly looked back at the stranger, trying to keep the man's focus on himself, instead of his brother.
His brief look at Charlie was not missed though. Don watched as the man walked quietly over to Charlie and seemed to study him.
Without warning the man reached his hand back and slapped Charlie across the face. His brother's head came up and hit the wall with such force he heard it plainly.
"Lesson number one Eppes', never fall asleep," the stranger's cold voice seemed to echo through the room.
A dazed Charlie immediately turned his eyes to his brother, looking for support. This action only earned him a sharp jab to the ribs.
"DO NOT look at him!" the stranger's voice got louder as he turned from Charlie and walked to the door, then turned and walked back towards the brothers.
"Now that both of you are awake, I want to tell you a little story. It is a story about two men. They were brothers. They both grew up on the wrong side of town. Both had to steal to get enough food to eat every night," the stranger turned and continued to pace, never breaking his narrative.
"Both had to sleep in the streets, with the rats and lice. The elder brother tried everything he could to make sure his younger brother had food in his belly every night. Some times he succeeded, and sometimes he went hungry. But, in the end, the two brothers grew up and started a very profitable business; a business that gave them a home and all the food they ever wanted. Things were going great."
"Until one day…"the stranger stopped and looked at Don, "…the younger brother was caught in a police raid. He was killed by some moron with a gun."
"Unfortunately for that cop, the other brother was forced to listen to his brother's cries for help, he saw everything that was done, and he won't ever forget that day, and neither will you."
The stranger walked slowly towards Don, stopping inches from his face. He could smell the man's acrid breath and tried to turn his face away. The stranger only grabbed his face with one of his hands and forced Don to look him in the eye. He held Don's gaze for several moments and they promptly spit in Don's face.
"That is what I think of you. However, I have decided what your punishment shall be Agent Eppes! Since I was forced to watch my brother tormented before he died, you too shall get to watch your brother," the man turned, gesturing slightly to Charlie.
"And, just as I had no way to talk to my brother, neither shall you. You see this walkie-talkie…"he said, holding up a very memorable item, "every word you say will be recorded, and for each word spoken to him, pain will be inflicted. Do you understand?"
Don simply looked at the man with rage in his eyes.
"I'll take that as a yes. So, let's have our first test, just to see if you were listening!" The man turned from Don and walked to the door. He opened it and hollered to the right, "Fox…Get in here."
The man stepped aside to let the much taller and bulkier man through the door. "Fox, you may begin."
Fox stepped towards Charlie and immediately looked back at his boss for verification. This single act of disobedience sent the stranger into a fury.
"I TOLD YOU TO BEGIN!" he raged.
Fox turned back towards his victim and began to pummel his target; first a punch to the face, then to ribs, and then to the stomach. He repeated this process until all Don was sure his brother had passed out.
Before he could stop himself Don yelled at the man, "STOP IT…LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
The stranger cocked his head and motioned for Fox to halt his assault.
Seeing that Don had the man's attention he decided to try and talk him out of his deranged plan.
"Leave him alone," Don repeated quietly, "He didn't kill your brother, I did. Let him go. I'll take whatever punishment you think I deserve, but don't take out your anger on him."
The stranger looked at him and seemed to be considering what Don said; until he turned abruptly and walked to Charlie. He looked over his shoulder at Don and then proceeded to kick Charlie in the stomach and ribs. For several minutes the man continued to unleash his anger, until finally he stopped, his anger spent.
"Agent Eppes," the man said through heavy breaths, "now you know what I meant when I said he would be hurt if you spoke. That is strike number one for you Agent Eppes."
The man walked to the door as if to leave, but only leaned against the wall and motioned for Fox to continue his job. For what seemed like an eternity to him, Don watched silently as Fox hurt his brother. In his mind he had his hands around the man's throat and was choking the life out of him, but in reality, all he could do was sit and watch.
Finally, the stranger held up his hand in a signal for Fox to stop. He walked over to Charlie and yanked his head up by the hair. He looked at Don and said, "This…is only the beginning."
He dropped Charlie's head and stalked out of the room, followed closely by Fox.
When the door had closed Don turned his focus to Charlie, trying to assess his injuries without saying a word. From where he was bound, he could only blood on Charlie's face, lots of it.
Charlie, come on…look up! Look at me! Don inwardly thought, trying to will his brother to look into his eyes.
As if hearing his brother's unspoken encouragement, Charlie lifted his head and looked at his brother.
What Don saw almost made him lose what little breakfast he had had this morning. Charlie's right eye was swollen shut and his upper lip was busted and bleeding. Charlie's breaths were coming in wheezes and his shoulders were slumped as far as the chains would allow.
Despite Charlie's obvious pain, it was the fear that shone in his brother's eyes that scared and enraged Don the most.
I'm gonna kill him.