Broken
Part 4
"Ok then." Crawford said while adjusting his glasses. "We have to get started. Farfarello and Nagi, you will start warming up our little friend, while Schuldich and I get Weiss."
Farfarello snickered and looked at Nagi who smiled smugly. "With pleasure." Farfarello said fiddling with his knife.
"We'll be back in about one or two hours. Nagi, I think you should start out and take the first hour and a half, or the boy will die of blood loss before we get back." Crawford sent a malicious smile at Farfarello, who started licking his knife.
Crawford cleared his throat: "Remember there has to be something left of him when we get back."
"Well, let's get to 'work'. I'll be giving him something to think about on the way." Schuldich cheered and walked out the door. Crawford followed and they got into the car, and drove of.
Nagi and Farfarello looked at each other, and started for the basement.
............
Omi was very tired, and he felt sore all over. His jaw was hurting because of the gag, and he hadn't been able to feel his arms for two hours. He shifted and now the blanket fell down on the floor. It was a cold basement, and Omi was still only wearing his pyjamas. He shivered and tried to free his wrists for the umpteeth time. The bindings were starting to bite into his wrists when he tried to move them.
Omi felt so alone and afraid. Afraid of what Schwarz would do to him. He knew what they were capable of. He had never missed his friends as much as he did right now. And as he started thinking of them again, praying that they would come, he suddenly started to doubt it.
~They wont come, they abandoned you.~ A voice said in the back of Omi's head.
Omi felt the tears sting in his eyes again. ~They don't trust you, they don't love you... if they were your friends they would have already been here to rescue you, Aya wouldn't have let you get kidnapped in the first place.~
"Aya."
Now Omi couldn't hold back his tears any more. Maybe it was true. Ever since Omi discovered his past Aya had been so different. Maybe Aya did hate him; he thought Omi was an enemy. Omi had noticed that Aya often watched him, always looking at him. It all made sense. He was probably expecting Omi to give himself away as a traitor by accident, so that he could slice him in two and rip his heart out.
"They hate me… Aya hates me." Omi sobbed to himself, shivering in the cold.
The voice kept going faster and faster: ~He knew Schuldich was in your room; he just wanted to enjoy your despair. – You're all alone, the ones you love will never come for you - and it's your own fault, you let them down. You helped Hirofumi to escape, your brother was the target for God's sake, and you never told them what you felt about it. How could they know you were in distress? You were hiding your feelings, so that they would think you are strong, but look at yourself now. You brought this down upon yourself, because you were afraid Aya and the others wouldn't want a weak team-mate. And because you didn't tell them anything, they think you're not on their side, you didn't seek their help, as any normal friend would have done if he felt pain. Now they wont have you as a team-mate at all, they will let you die here... no-one wants a weak traitor on their team.~
Omi jerked out of his thoughts when he heard the door open. A bright light sent shadows dancing on the moist walls. Omi tried to adjust his eyes to the light and saw a couple of silhouettes coming towards him. A small one and a big muscular one. Omi recognised Nagi and Farfarello and tried to move as far away from them as possible - 4 inches and then his back and his bound arms came in contact with the cold wall.
Nagi and Farfarello stopped right in front of the bed and looked down at him with disgust. Nagi reached out his hands, and suddenly Omi felt the bed move underneath him. Before he knew what happened it tilted and he fell down on the floor at their feet with a thud. The bound boy winced in pain and looked up at the two Schwarz members, who seemed to enjoy themselves more than he did.
Farfarello kneeled down beside the frightened boy and picked him up. Omi was flung over the madman's shoulder, and they left the basement.
..................
Aya woke up early Saturday morning - he hadn't slept very well. He went down in the kitchen. Ken was up too, but Yoji was still sleeping - of course.
"Good morning Aya." Ken greeted with a yawn.
"Good morning." Aya mumbled.
"Did you sleep well?" Ken asked absently, looking for the paper.
"Actually I didn't, I got up because I heard Omi, and when I went back to sleep I couldn't find rest. Is he up yet?"
"I haven't seen him... Funny, he is usually up at this time." Ken said and drank his coffee.
"Hmm, strange." Aya mussed. "He sounded odd when I talked to him after his nightmare." Aya said to no one in particular.
"You talked to him last night?" Ken asked and lifted a brow, surprised that the eternally cold Aya should have gotten up to see to Omi, just because he had another bad dream. That was sweet; Aya certainly wouldn't have done that if Yoji or Ken himself had had a nightmare.
"You didn't hear him?" Aya asked. "He screamed."
"Well he often has nightmares... especially after the episode with his brother, and Ouka...."
Ken stopped and looked at Aya, who didn't seem to be listening anymore.
"… Aya?"
"I'll go check on him." Aya said and left the kitchen, Ken looked after him in disbelief. - Did he just see a worried expression on the face of his emotionless and cold leader?
Ken shook his head and started to look for the paper again.
……..
Aya knocked on Omi's door… no answer, and it was still locked. Aya sighed, "Omi… Omi are you awake?"
Still no answer.
"Come on, open the door." Aya didn't understand why Omi wouldn't open up – it wasn't like him.
Aya stood and waited, not sure if he should go downstairs again or slam the door in. He knew Omi was probably still sad; those nightmares were usually hard on him – more than he let his older team-mates know. Why didn't he just tell them that he was sad? They were friends, they were there for him – that wonderful little brat just didn't want them to worry.
Aya shook his head and turned to leave, but then he heard the lock click and the door opened.
Aya smiled to himself and walked inside turning to face the boy behind the door, but he was caught off guard when a totally unexpected sight met him.
"Guten Morgen, searching for someone?" Schuldich whispered with his mocking smile. He aimed his gun at the spot right between Aya's eyes, before he could even get a word out.
~Don't say a word – Yoji is still sleeping, and Crawford will be so disappointed if he can't be the one who gets to wake him up.~ Schuldich gestured with his gun the direction of Omi's bed while he closed the door behind him.
Aya knew better than to yell, and besides that wasn't his style. He just waited patiently for an opportunity to jump his enemy. But this occasion never came. When they reached the bed Schuldich dashed forward and smacked the gun against Aya's forehead.
Aya fell to the bed dazed and his senses didn't return fully before it was too late. Schuldich had him handcuffed in no time and pressed the gun against the back of Aya's neck while he pressed him against the mattress.
~Sorry for the inconvenience, Crawford needs a minute.~ Schuldich's voice told Aya.
There was a sound from the next room, and since there was no sound of a fight both Aya and Schuldich knew that Crawford had Yoji under control too.
Schuldich not-so-gently hauled Aya up and pushed him towards the door. In the hall they met Crawford and his captive. Yoji looked at Aya – they both silently agreed that they should wait and not try anything stupid while they were both handcuffed and had a gun pointed at them.
~Nice decision!~ Schuldich agreed pushing Aya forward.
The two Schwarz members guided their prisoners down the stairs and headed for the kitchen.
…….
Omi could not remember a time he had been more afraid. Hanging over the shoulder of this madman, going God knows where. Omi slowly started to wish he was still lying alone in the cold and black basement. He couldn't stop thinking of what was waiting for him. Every time Weiss had collided with Schwarz everyone had been very sore the next day. And Omi knew there was no possible way he could escape by himself.
Nagi opened the door for Farfarello, and he walked into a little room that was painted white. Omi couldn't see much from his position over Farfarello's shoulder, but then he was thrown off, and he crashed down on a table.
Omi grunted and looked around. It was a square, well-lit room. The only furniture was the table in the middle of the room, a cupboard and a chair in the corner. Omi noticed that one of the walls was covered with a big mirror, and then he turned his attention back to his captors.
Farfarello walked to the chair and sat down, smiling in a crazy way mumbling something under his breath that Omi couldn't quite make out. Something about God and pain – then the one-eyed man started to lick his knife. Nagi just stood and looked at Omi with an unreadable expression on his face. Nagi looked at his watch, then he removed the blond's gag. Omi was very thankful, and he tried to move his jaw.
"Well let's get started." Nagi said, but then he stopped. Omi looked at him, he looked like he was thinking to himself.
~Don't tell him that we know he hasn't got the information. Make him believe that we think, he is the one who's got it.~ Schuldich told Nagi and Farfarello.
" ... Ehm, yeah, where was I? Oh yes, we want some information, and you are going to give it to us. You know what I am talking about." Nagi informed Omi.
"You'd better tell us now, or we will have to force you." Nagi said, suddenly smiling evilly. Farfarello got up and walked to the cupboard and opened it. Omi's eyes widened and he swallowed hard. He wasn't surprised at all, but he didn't like the looks of it. The cupboard was filled with every torture instrument Omi could possibly think of, and also some Omi didn't know, but really didn't wish to know either.
Omi didn't have any idea what kind of information they were talking about, but no matter what it was - he wasn't going to give it to them. He would never betray Weiss, even if they left him to die.
~Yeah, let's drag this on. If they think you've got what they want, you can delay them by playing along.~ Omi heard an inner voice.
"I will never tell you anything… and I don't fear pain." Omi said trying to look strong. He wasn't very successful though being bound on hand and feet.
Nagi and Farfarello exchanged glances. "Ohhh you will, just wait until we are finished with you!" Nagi stated and raised his arm.
Omi suddenly felt a strong pressure on his back - it felt like some force was pushing him down against the table. The blond breathed heavily and closed his eyes. He then felt his bindings being removed from his feet - then his wrists. Omi immediately tried to get up, but the pressure grew stronger and it started to hurt. He felt like the force was trying to push him down through the table-plate. Omi tried to push himself up putting more back into his attempt, but was unsuccessful. Nagi increased the pressure and now Omi couldn't hold back a yelp of pain.
Farfarello's smile grew wider as did the pain. But suddenly Nagi stopped, leaving Omi breathless. Omi tried a third time to push himself up and looked at the younger Schwarz member.
"Well?" Nagi asked raising his hand. "You know what I want from you – so why don't you just make this process as painless as possible?"
"Go to hell!" Omi choked glaring angrily at Nagi.
"Suit yourself." Nagi said and send Omi flying through the air. He crashed into the wall and Nagi held him in place there constantly putting more force into his attack. Omi started to scream in pain when the pressure became unbearable, but Nagi didn't stop, he just concentrated on making it as painful as he could to prove his point.
Omi couldn't reach the ground, not that it would help him. Again he tried to push against the wave of pressure - but no use. Nagi doubled the pressure and kept up the force.
Omi felt a searing pain in his ribs, and he couldn't breathe. Then abruptly the pressure stopped and he fell to the ground. He curled up on the floor; he could hear Farfarello's laughter from the other side of the room.
"Changed your mind?" Nagi's voice reached him.
"No" Omi whispered trying to suppress a whimper.
"Ok, then we take five minutes more..." Nagi told him. And the pressure returned.
Omi lost track of time, the only thing he could think of was the pain, it grew stronger and stronger... he thought it would never stop.
Finally the pressure faded, but the pain didn't, his ribs were very sore as were the rest of his limbs. Omi didn't even have the strength to try to push himself up on his elbows anymore.
"Any progress?" Nagi smiled evilly as he kneeled beside his victim.
Omi couldn't even find the air to answer - so he shook his head.
"Well then, we'll take 10 minutes this time... and the next time it will be 15, and then 20 and so forth – get the idea? So you'd better consider it well."
Omi didn't get to answer before the pain returned, and this time he couldn't help but scream out in pain.
…………….
Ken had finally found the paper, when he heard footsteps on the stairs. He could hear that there were more than two people so he expected that the rest of Weiss were heading down – even Yoji which surprised him. He quickly filled up his cup with the rest of the coffee so that the others could make some more instead of him. He leaned back and started reading when a rather unexpected voice reached him.
"Good morning, and how are you?" Crawford greeted pointing his gun at Ken.
Ken got up to a defensive pose, but his enemies simultaneously pressed their weapons against the older Weiss members, and Ken realised that a fight couldn't possibly turn out to Weiss' favour.
"Turn around! Walk to the living room, and no tricks!" Crawford commanded.
"Don't worry, we wont hurt you, we just want some information. It's not you we are after. If you cooperate no-one will get hurt - including your little friend, Omi." Schuldich said, looking at Aya.
Ken noticed that Aya suddenly looked as expressionless as he usually did. His face was unreadable - even when he started to speak no emotion was to be found in that cold face, but his voice gave his anger away.
"What have you done to him? Where is he?"
"Calm down - and sit down!" Crawford pointed the gun at Aya's head. "We haven't hurt him much...yet. Now sit down!" Crawford's finger tightened around the trigger.
Ken and Yoji sat down in the sofa, Ken – being the only one with untied hands - dragged Aya down with him.
"Look, we are all assassins, you know what it's like, we just do what we get paid for, and our job is not to kill you... unless you don't cooperate that is... so if you just tell us what we want to know, we will let you go, and you get that little brat of yours back." Schuldich said, looking smugly at Aya studying his face.
"We wont tell you anything!" Yoji informed in a cold voice.
Crawford was fast, he stopped aiming the gun at the spot between Aya's eyes, and in stead he fired it at Yoji's arm.
Yoji cried out in pain, and clutched his wounded arm, though the cuffs didn't make it easy. It was a grazing shot, but it bled like hell, and he closed his eyes biting his lover lip.
Crawford once again aimed his gun at Aya, who still looked as calm as ever.
Yoji breathed heavily but calmed himself down, then he looked up at the two Schwarz members in fury.
"If you think you can make me talk, you can…"
"Who ever said that I wanted information from you?" Crawford interrupted. "I believe that Aya is the one with my answers... am I right?"
Aya didn't answer.
"You know what I'm talking about, don't you?" Crawford asked with a sly grin.
Still no answer.
"Don't you? Crawford pointed his gun at Ken's shoulder, and fired.
"Mmmgghhh" Ken moaned and pressed his eyes shut against the searing pain.
Aya didn't even move.
Schuldich looked at him and started his mental search.
"Sure, he knows what you are talking about." He informed Crawford. ~But I can't reach it.~ he added in telepathy so only Crawford heard it.
"Very well." Crawford said smiling an evil smile. "If you wont tell us, we will have to take you with us, and we'll see how tough you are when we point the gun at Omi."
This time Aya moved, and Crawford looked at him with triumph written all over his face.
"Yeah, he's a wonderful boy, isn't he?" Schuldich said, mostly to Aya. "So sweet and innocent."
"If you harm a hair on Omi's head, I'll…"
"We wont, if you just give us the information we want from you." Crawford interrupted in a calm voice.
Ken and Yoji were puzzled, and looked at each other. None of them knew what the hell the others were talking about.
"I can't give you the information." Aya said, in an even calmer and colder voice than Crawford's.
"We'll see about that, when we get home." Schuldich said and drew a third pair of handcuffs from his white jacket.
Ken had to cooperate and let himself get handcuffed. Then they were escorted to the car and all had to accept a blindfold before they got in. Crawford turned the kea and drove away from the flower-shop.
~He knows, but I can't break through his defences.~ Schuldich informed, sounding slightly bitter, as they drove down the road in silence.
"He'll let down his defences when he gets something else to think about." Crawford thought as answer.
