Whumpay Day Five: Collapse/Keeps Getting Back Up

Thanks to Gumnut and TsarinaTorment for the read-through.

The punch floored him. Again. He spat out a mouthful of blood and glanced up at his captors. The three men laughed, and one kicked him over onto his back, a smirk on his face.

'Stay down this time. I'm not going to warn you again.'

Yet still they waited, and Gordon knew they were waiting for him to try again. He always was an obliging fellow, but this time he needed to stay calm and in control if he was to find out what was going on.

If he was going to find his brother.

There was nothing new about being jumped on a night out. They were rich and influential; it came with the territory. So far he'd only been kidnapped once – this time not counted – and it had been a matter of pride that he shared this record with no-one. All the eldest had been kidnapped several times. Hell, Scott was into double figures.

But Alan, Alan had been sheltered and protected all his life, and Gordon would be damned if he let anything happen to his only baby brother. If only he knew where he was.

So he played the game. And kept getting back up only to be knocked down again. A fist here, a kick there, he could take it. And each time they knocked him down he took longer to get back up.

Until he didn't get back up. Instead, he stayed collapsed on the ground, wheezing a little from the repeated kicks to his ribs. Gordon was certain one or more were cracked by now. The three left, satisfied that they had achieved whatever it was they wanted, and he crawled to the wall and sat, propped against it. And waited.

He didn't have long to wait. At least, he thought so, but he could have passed out for a short while. The lock clicked back and Alan was thrown in. Alan, whose blonde hair was matted and whose face was caked in blood on one side. He also crawled over to join Gordon, and they sat side by side, just breathing.

Eventually Gordon turned to him and grinned. His teeth were red, but the grin was reassuring nonetheless. It lifted Alan's heart and he grinned back, lifting Gordon's spirits in return. They bumped shoulders. Whatever happened next, they were in this together.

'Scott's gonna be livid,' Alan eventually murmured, causing Gordon to snort. 'Never mind Scott, what do you think Kayo's going to be when she realises her security failed?' he replied, and Alan shivered. 'And then there's Virgil. Wouldn't want to cross the Tank,' Gordon said, grim mirth in his voice. Yeah, Scott was going to be bad enough. Scott and Kayo? These guys had no idea what they had unleashed, and then they had John and EOS to contend with. Alan almost felt sorry for them. Almost.

The door opened and the three original men who had entertained Gordon earlier stepped in, this time accompanied by two new ones. They were probably Alan's entertainment, Gordon mused, wondering if this time they would get to the point.

Then a sixth man stepped in and both brothers couldn't help the sucked in breath, or the tendril of worry beginning to curdle in their stomachs.