TW: Immediate aftermath of torture
Ready, set…Whump!
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They found him in the large basement of an abandoned house. They found the Turner's at the same time, one tasing Jay - the prongs stuck in his thigh and abdomen, the other using a cattle prod. Both assholes laughed while the kid screamed in pain, his body arching off the pallet he was tied to, volts of electricity coursing through him.
As they ran to Jay, bullets flew, the Turners died and the tasing stopped causing Jay to fall back to the rough surface with a scream. His head was not on the pallet but tipped off the edge of the four inch platform and onto the soaking wet ground, no doubt from water boarding. The kid was soaking wet, alternating between moaning and trying to catch his breath as his body twitched with aftershocks from the brutal combination of electricity and water.
They were at Jay's side in seconds subconsciously taking in the room. A chain hung from the ceiling and the tools of 'standard' torture littered the floor; bucket, bat, hose, lighters, knives, all of it registering in a matter of moments and it was bad.
He was wearing a water soaked blindfold and noise canceling head phones. Sensory deprivation. Jay never knew what was coming until the pain informed him.
Tied at the wrists and ankles, Jay was spread eagle wearing only his boxer briefs. His body was covered in cuts and bruises as well as burns from the cattle prod still held in Carter's dead hand.
His nose, lips and a cut on his forehead were bleeding. The blood mixed with the water on his face diluting it to pink as it rolled.
But that, as bad as it was, was the least of it. The pallet Jay lay on had been wrapped in barbed wire, poking and tearing into his skin from his hips to his shoulders. His ankles and wrists had been secured to the corners with more of the stuff.
"Jesus…" was whispered by Al.
If there was a positive side, which there really wasn't, the barbs on the wire were small, less than 2 cm. Even so, every twitch, every move would have caused Jay excruciating pain.
The Turner's were lucky to be dead.
The team surrounded Jay at a distance, stunned stupid by how they had found their friend until quiet whimpers that hung in the air and the minute tremble rolling through Jay pulled them out of it and into action.
Kevin said their collective thought out loud, "Shit boss…how do we do this."
Voight barked, "Kim call dispatch. I want 61."
She nodded, running upstairs as she placed the call. She'd wait for the ambulance, grateful she wouldn't have to be a part of what they would have to do. She knew for a fact it would cause Jay intense pain.
Feeling the air shift as Al kneeled down next to him, Jay gasped and his body stiffened, banishing the tremble. The only part of him moving was the blood leaking from too many wounds and a slight uptick in his breathing…anticipating the pain to come.
They couldn't just take off the blindfold or headphones. Slow and steady was the key. They had to let him know they were there and he was safe or he might struggle too much and hurt himself in the process. At the very least they knew he would flinch and they wanted to keep any additional pain to a minimum.
Talking to Jay before he even did anything, Al gently slid one side of the earphones off and put a gentle hand to the kid's cheek at the same time.
Jay did move but not in the way they expected. A sob escaped his split lips and he leaned his head into Al's hand.
Pushing the other side of the headphones off, Al talked quietly to Jay, "It's okay kid. We got you. Hold still. Gunna take off the blindfold…"
Al slid the blindfold over Jay's bloody forehead but he didn't open his eyes, just let out a hitched breath. Al hadn't removed his hand from Jay's cheek the whole time and didn't stop his stream quiet comfort.
Wiping a few tears that had escaped the corners of the kid's eyes, Al cringed at the blackening eyes that had been hidden by the blindfold.
"Jay, you with me?"
"Y…ya…" It was barely a whisper, choked with tears but they all heard the relief in it.
"We're gunna put something under your head okay?"
His lips moved in a soundless 'ya' and Kevin stepped forward with Hailey's hoodie, folded enough to bring Jay's head even with the rest of his body.
"Great kid. We gotta get you off this pallet. Okay?"
Tipping his head further into Al's hand, he whispered, "Gimme…h…hold on."
He took slow steadying breaths while he prepared himself for a severe uptick in pain.
The team stood back, horrified by the state of Jay but also his reaction to it all. He was so calm, too calm…almost practiced.
His eyes finally fluttered open and even though he was squinting against the light, they could see the white of his left eye was red with blood.
Readying himself, Jay released a shallow breath and stared at the ceiling through eyes half mast, "'kay…"
"Alright Kid, give us a second we're gunna figure this out so it doesn't hurt as much."
Adam, who had disappeared at one point, gave Al a nod as he knelt down by Jay with bolt cutters, "Ambo two minutes out…Jay…I'm gunna cut the taser wires first."
Making quick work of it, Adam left only an inch or so attached to the probes. They could take them out after they got him off the pallet.
"Wrists and ankles, okay, bud?"
Kevin was thinking pain relief, "Should we wait for the ambo?
Jay took in a slow breath, then croaked out a reply, "No…Go…"
Adam scowled. Now that Kev had brought it up he thought waiting was a good idea, that Jay would want to wait for the meds that would be arriving soon.
He could just hear the sirens in the distance, "You sure man?"
Frustration tinged his quiet answer, "Just go…"
Cringing in anticipation of his friend's pain, Adam started with his left wrist, "'kay, here we go Jay…"
The wire cutters froze half way to their destination, "…aw Christ. They broke his fingers."
Everyone was so fixed on the baling wire and blood they hadn't noticed that part of the trauma.
Adam blinked, trying to see passed the circumstances for the moment and concentrate on the wire. Jay's wrists and ankles where the priority.
Being as gentle as possible, even though there was really nothing that would equate to gentle in the fucked up situation, Adam snipped the three layers of barbed wire.
Hailey moved in when Adam shifted to the other side and slowly removed the sadistic restraints from his skin, eliciting soft whimpers from Jay.
"Right wrist, ready bud?"
Before he made the cut, 61 arrived. Neither medic could help reacting to the state of Jay. They had never seen anything like this before.
Sylvie immediately put a pressure bandage on Jay's left wrist. Figuring out the game plan, she gestured for her partner to have more ready.
"Jay, we're gunna get some morphine onboard, okay…"
He cringed, "No!"
"Jay this is gunna hurt."
Keeping up with his steadying breaths, he quietly agreed…to a point, "Don't…don't knock me out."
They all looked at each other but didn't question Jay's decision. As long as he was conscious he needed to run the show.
Not wanting him to flinch, Sylvie talked him through the process of the injection, taking more steps than usual.
"Putting my hand on your thigh okay, gunna give you a shot right next to it. She gently pushed down on his thigh with her thumb letting him know the area the shot was going in.
He blinked with the sting of the injection.
Less than a minute later, Jay rasped out his wishes, "Okay…go…"
Even though he gave them the go ahead, they gave it another moment knowing the meds weren't in full affect yet.
Frustrated, he had a little more volume but the effort made him cringe in pain, "Go!"
Stupidly they realized then that Jay just wanted to get the hell off that pallet. Laying there hurt whether he was moving or not.
"Okay. Sorry man…right wrist."
He didn't move, didn't talk just blinked his eyes in the affirmative and they followed the pattern two more times, cut, pressure bandage, cut pressure bandage.
Jay laid perfectly still until Adam got around to his left foot. One layer of the baling wire was extra deep.
As soon as it was cut, Jay's body jerked and the gasp from the intense pain turned to an all out scream as the rest of his body moved against the wire he was laying on.
"Jesus fucking Christ. I'm sorry Jay…I'm sorry."
Adam's eyes filled with tears. He was beside himself for causing Jay pain. A small part of him knew it couldn't be helped but that didn't make him feel any better.
Jay was able to swallow a sob but couldn't keep the quiet whimper from working its way through his clenched lips.
Al hadn't taken his hand off Jay's cheek since he first put it there but now he took his other hand and held onto both sides of the kid's face, wiping the tears with his thumbs as they rolled into the streams of blood flowing from the cuts on his face.
"Shhh shh kid. We got you. Just a little more."
Something changed in Jay then, it was subtle at first but they all noticed it. Jay was no longer with them. Staring at the ceiling and whispering to himself, not acknowledging anything they were saying.
"Shit. We gotta do this."
Sylvie got his bleeding ankle wrapped as her partner spread a mylar blanket on the ground, then they all positioned themselves to lift Jay as straight up as possible. Even though the barbs, which went every which way, were short, they would still tear flesh when they lifted him. There was no way to go about it that wouldn't cause him pain. And it did cause him pain, excruciating pain, busting Jay out of the happy place he'd retreated to. He was screaming before he was even a millimeter off the pallet.
They moved quickly, laying him on the blanket. No choice but to place him on his back, they were surprised when the position muted his screams instead of heightening them as one would expect.
Jay didn't pass out like they had all hoped just immediately rolled onto his right side and curled in on himself, pulling his bloody hands to his chest.
Those that could see Jay's back couldn't help but react. Gasps and cursing went with the tears in their eyes. It was brutal.
"It's okay kid, you're safe. We gotcha."
Jay didn't answer but his eyelashes fluttered for a moment before he stared straight ahead, focused on his breathing.
Al ran his hand over the kid's hair then let it rest on the top of his head. He wanted to give him some modicum of comfort and holding his hand was not an option given his broken and bloody fingers.
It was so quiet he almost missed it, but in a barely audible voice, hoarse from screaming, Jay asked about his brother, "Will…"
"He's okay kid. He's gunna be fine."
The kid's eyes fluttered closed in relief, then opened again at half mast.
Sylvie leaned over her friend, "Jay, can I give you some more pain meds?"
He didn't even think about it, just whispered, "D…don't knock me out…"
Wanting to ease her friend's pain and upset he wouldn't take a higher dose, Sylvie scanning the group, looking for permission even though she knew they couldn't give it.
Voight shook his head, "Okay kid, whatever you want, they're here though if you want them."
Jay whispered to Sylvie again almost desperate, "Please…don't knock me out…"
"I won't Jay, I promise. Just a little…going in now okay?"
He didn't answer just huffed out a breath at the pinch of the needle then continued to look straight ahead.
The meds set in quickly. Jay blinked then blinked again but was able to keep his eyes open. The small dosage wouldn't put a dent in the pain Jay must be feeling, but he barely reacted when Sylvie and her partner started working on his back, a couple of winces but that was it.
They tried not to be concerned about Jay's second demand to not be knocked out but they couldn't help it. It was written all over Jay's face and the way he held his body that he was in pain but he still wanted to stay awake.
Trying to concentrate on comforting Jay, Al couldn't help taking in the totality of the kid's injuries. His forehead, jaw and cheeks all sported bruises and a few superficial cuts and a trail of blood dribbled down his jaw from his split lips…
…and that was just his face.
Covered by his arms, his trembling hands pulled in for protection, Al couldn't really see Jay's chest. His left arm and shoulder had dark bruising, more than likely from the accident and his side had road rash from being dragged. What he could see of the kid's abdomen was covered with bruises and littered with burns.
He didn't want to see Jay's bloody back. What he could see from his position was bad enough. He wished the kid would give the okay for more meds or at the very least pass out. The pain had to be excruciating.
Not able to fully escape to his happy place, Jay caught sight of Voight and ground out through a clenched jaw, "Sarge."
Hearing the pain etched in his name, Voight crouched into Jay's line of sight, "You're gunna be okay. Hold on a little longer."
Taking a ragged breath, Jay's eyes searched the room, "Turners?"
"They're dead."
Shifting away from the the medics, Jay trembled and gasped at the increasing pain in his back.
Al stroked his hair trying to ease the pain, "Hey kid…shh…lay still."
"mmmhh…Voight…"
The panic in Jay's eyes broke his heart, "Ya kid?"
"Call… Ethan…please…" His eyes filled with tears, "please Voight…"
Voight stepped away to call Ethan. He wasn't sure why the kid made the request but he did it immediately leaving Al and Hailey to take care of Jay.
"Hailey…Hail's..." He whimpered.
She met Al's eyes, then leaned over Jay.
"I'm here partner."
"Ethan…."
"Voight's calling him...You're doing good. Just hold on.."
Breathing more raggedly while the trembling increased, Jay ground out his request over the pain. "I need...I need Ethan to be there."
Al did his best to calm him down, running his hand over Jay's head, "He'll be there…Voight's calling him."
Sylvie stopped her work for a moment, "Can I give you more meds Jay, please? It's going to hurt even more when we move you."
"NO!"
The refusal was his loudest yet, but not in volume, his whole body resonated with the denial.
He ignored Sylvie and turned his focus back to Al, "Tell Voight, Ethan…tell him Watch Dog…"
The kid groaned again through his teeth and arched his back. Tears leak from his eyes as he breathed out his plea one more time before passing out, "Please…Al…"
Voight had finally gotten someone he felt comfortable with on the phone, "Maggie…Hank Voight…Is Dr. Choi on."
"He's working but he's almost off."
"I need to speak to him please…it's urgent."
"Hold on, I'll get him."
X
"Voight, what's going on?"
"Ethan, Jay's been hurt and we're bringing him in. Can you stay until we get him there."
"Shit…of course…"
"It's a bit of a unique situation…"
Al interrupted the conversation with Jay's request, "Hank…Jay's out…he needs you to tell Ethan 'Watchdog.'"
Voight heard a sharp intake of breath and then muffled swearing in the background. By Ethan's reaction, he heard what Al had yelled. When the doctor spoke again his tone was crisp, efficient. Almost like his vocal cords were standing at attention.
"Still conscious?"
"In and out."
"Can you put the phone to his ear?"
"Hold on."
He was able to bring Jay around, "Hey kid, I have Ethan on the phone. I'll hold it. He needs to talk to you."
It's only a whisper but Ethan hears it, "Ethn…"
"Jay, you with me?"
"mhere."
"Everything?"
He rasps out, "No…AAR."
"Okay good, that's good Jay. See ya soon."
"Voight?"
"Ya…"
"I'll be here…"
"Good…should be to you in 15."
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Thanks for reading peeps and for all of the love! You are the bombdiggity!
One more chapter to go after this, maybe two since my muse Barbara seems to be having a creative freakout right now.