He'd drifted off into a state of sleep when the electronic beep could be herd. Jack didn't rouse though, he was far away from China. He was in Washington with Audrey, they were cuddled up together in the warmth of the bed sheets; until the guards roughly brought him back to the cruel reality which was now his life. He snapped awake looking around dazed, he could see the figures in his cell but it was too dark to see their faces. He subconsciously shifted back against the wall as though he could somehow melt into it.
The men moved in closer, the tallest leaning over to speak into his ear, his English as bad as the other guards.
"Up, up!"
Jack looked up at him doubtful, they surely would make him walk; and one thing he was certain of was that he wouldn't be able to do so.
"Up up!" The man demanded, striking his hand against the wall by Jacks head, grinning as he saw the flinch Jack wouldn't control. He shuffled towards the corner and tried to grip the wall with the palms of his hands. The two guards stepped back as they watched the man struggle to stand.
Jack managed to balance on one foot as he rested on the knee of his injured leg. He held his breath to deal with the spots in his vision the pain was causing. He straightened up as best he could, his knee raised slightly so his injured foot hovered in the air a few inches from the ground. He knew it was the closest the moving he could manage.
The guards sensed this but still signalled for him to move. Jack looked at them helplessly as a frown covered his face; he couldn't move but he knew they would make him. The smaller overweight guard moved forward as he pulled out his baton and advanced. Jacks face scrunched up in anticipation of what could happen while his mind made the observation that they had advanced from their fists and boots to this.
The man pulled his arm back as he prepared for the strike. Jack tried to move away and in the panic lost his footing and fell to the floor. Landing heavily on his foot he rolled over letting out a screaming yell from the explosion of pain as he pulled it out from underneath him. His breathing became faster as he felt light headed, unable to deal with the pain. That was before the guard struck.
The heavy stick came down on Jack's knee cap, the same leg with the injured foot. Jack shouted out in pain, moving his hands to protect the knee. The pain wasn't as intense as that in his foot, he knew it would be bruised rather than broken. Instead of subduing him it made him angry, in a fit of rage he began to yell curses at the men, his voice cracking as he let the insults burst out as loud as he could.
He kept his body leant over the leg as he did so knowing the men would get there revenge. He didn't care, all he wanted to do was hurt them, let them experience some of his pain. Physically he couldn't do that so he did the next best thing and degraded them as best as he could, the insults were non stop until the second man drew his weapon and they began to beat the man with them together.
The blows rained down on his back and shoulders, sometimes his head but not always. Jack continued to shout, incensed by the pain they were delivering; the fact that the men wouldn't understand what he was saying encouraged him. He couldn't think of the consequences, it felt so good to be able to scream and shout and just let go. Even if he would suffer for it later.
After another crack to the head Jacks body slumped over out cold, covering his leg even subconsciously. The guards finally moved back, sweaty from the work. The first turned to face the more experienced of the two as he wondered what to do now. Chow still wanted to see him.
A smile formed on the tall mans face as he spoke to the man in Chinese.
"Bring Sir Chow here."
"Chow will not visit a prisoners cell!"
"Tell him the American refuses to move. He will want to view the punishment himself if he has to come in here."
The two men began to laugh as they locked the door behind themselves, the prisoner laid still on the floor as his blood soaked into the fresh clothes.