Thanks so much for the positive response to the first chapter of this one. I really appreciate the encouragement :) For those wondering about TG, I should hopefully update that mid-week. FTS is still giving me issues, but I'll get there. Thanks again everyone.
xxxxx
Sam watched, horrified as a youthful-appearing man, wearing blood-stained green hospital scrubs, walked into the room followed by a woman who carried a tray of assorted scalpels and other medical equipment. "Don't do this man," he said. "Please, just leave him alone." He would never beg for himself, but for Callen, for his brother, he would do anything. "Please…you can do whatever you want to me, just don't hurt him."
The two men holding Sam laughed, but no one responded to his pleas. Instead, they all watched with fascination as the man approached Callen and ripped apart the buttons on his shirt. He then chose one of the scalpels from the tray.
"What the hell, man!" Sam said, watching every move that was made. "Aren't you even using any kind of sterile solutions? What the hell are you doing to him?"
Fadhil had finally had enough of Sam's mouth. "If you know what's good for your partner, Agent Hanna, you will shut up now. For every word you speak, I will ask the good doctor here to give an extra jab to your partner. He will poke a scalpel through his kidney or perhaps lacerate his liver. Keep it up and he won't have a chance of making it off of this table alive."
Sam immediately went silent, realizing there wasn't a thing he could do for his friend. All he could do now was wait, watch and hope that this person, who he very much doubted was any kind of a real doctor, didn't kill him.
xxxxx
The first slice of the scalpel into his abdomen penetrated straight through Callen's nerve endings, effectively ending his attempts to try to block out what they were doing to him. His first instinct was to try to move away from the source of the pain, but of course, that was impossible. He had no choice but to cope with the agonizing torment as best as he could. He could feel every move of the scalpel, every time it went in a different direction or dug deeper into his abdomen. The pain was excruciating, but he was determined not to cry out or let out even a whimper. He wouldn't give these brutal monsters the satisfaction, nor did he want to increase Sam's anxiety over what was happening to him. He didn't believe that they were doing this for medical reasons. They were trying to keep him and his partner under control in the most brutal way possible. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and tried to focus on just getting through the pain. Finally, mercifully, it all became utterly too much for him and he lapsed into unconsciousness.
xxxxx
Sam gave a huge sigh of relief when Callen finally passed out. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off his partner during the procedure and he could easily see that Callen was in unbearable pain. He was so grateful that at least for now, he wouldn't be suffering. Still, with the unsanitary conditions, he knew infection was much more a probability than a possibility and that getting his friend out of this situation in a timely manner was necessary if he was to have a chance of getting through this nightmare alive.
xxxxx
When the procedure was completed, Sam watched as Fadhil's men unbuckled the straps around Callen's unconscious form, freeing him from the table.
"You did well, Ghadir." Fadhil smiled encouragingly at the young man who had removed the bullet from Callen. He then turned towards Sam. "You see, we are not the monsters you make us out to be. This was strictly a training exercise in which your friend was able to provide us with a useful platform for learning purposes. It should also make you proud that G came through it like a man. He did not cry or whimper the way so many of them do."
"Do you really think I'd care if he did?" Sam asked in disgust. "I would never think less of him, no matter what."
"Really?" Fadhil seemed to ponder that and then shrugged, seeming not to understand that point of view.
"Can I carry him?" Sam asked. He didn't want any of these bastards to lay another finger on Callen if it could be avoided.
"Go ahead," Fadhil said, laughing. "Better you than us."
Sam went to the table and as gently as he could lifted Callen into his arms. He couldn't help but notice that his partner looked frighteningly pale and he said a silent prayer for his eventual recovery. "Move it!" Fadhil said to him as he waved a gun in his direction. They then started back down the hallway and walked for about 15 minutes until they reached a metal door.
"This is the end of the road for you, my friend," Fadhil said.
Sam looked at the door warily, his imagination going into overdrive as he wondered what was behind it. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
"We have no further need of you or your friend. He proved most useful in advancing Ghadir's medical training. You must admit, he performed admirably in removing the bullet from your friend. However, now, it is time for us to take our leave of this place and make our escape. This was always our plan, however, you and G just caused us to alter our time frame a bit."
Sam didn't bother to comment about the less than sterile environment, realizing it would do nothing to help their situation. "So now what?" he asked.
Fadhil opened the door and aimed his weapon at Sam. "Now you will step inside this room, my friend, or suffer consequences that will be quite devastating, I assure you."
Realizing that he had no choice other than to do what Fadhil had ordered, Sam walked into the room which was a small cell, about six by six feet. It was completely empty. Before he even had a chance to do anything other than take a quick glance at the room, Fadhil spoke. "I wish you and your friend a happy and prosperous life, Sam." The door was then slammed and he and Callen were plunged into darkness.
"Wait! You can't just leave us here!" Sam shouted. "You can't leave us with nothing! No water or blankets, seriously? Not even a damn flashlight? After what you just did to him? Some medical training! You train people and then leave their patients to die?"
No one answered Sam. Instinctively, he knew that Fadhil and his men were gone and they would not be returning. He lowered Callen down to the floor then felt around for the door to see if he could open it. However, he could not even feel a handle on the inside. "Damn it!" He banged on the door in frustration then slowly made his way back to where Callen was, taking care not to accidentally kick or step on him. He sat down and carefully eased his partner into his arms then pulled him up so that Callen's back was resting against his chest. He then wrapped his arms around him in an attempt to keep him warm. It was pretty much the only thing he could do for him now.
xxxxx
When he first started to come to, the first thing Callen realized was that he was freezing. He immediately started to shiver then he felt Sam's arms around him and he realized that he was lying against his partner's chest. He opened his eyes but he couldn't see a thing. "Sam?" he whispered. "Where are we?"
"Hey buddy, how are you doing?" Sam asked, grateful that Callen had regained consciousness.
"Well…I can't see anything. I'm really hoping it's just dark wherever we are and that I'm not blind," Callen replied, only partly in jest. "Wh…where are we?" he asked again.
"They locked us in a cell, G," Sam said, tightening his grasp around Callen's shivering form. "There's no light at all in here. I can't see anything either. I'm sorry. I know you're cold. I wish I had a blanket for you."
"I…I'll be okay," Callen said, barely able to keep his teeth from chattering.
"I know you will," Sam said. "You're going to be fine."
Callen was silent for a short amount of time then he spoke again. "So…did they get the bullet out?" he asked.
"Yeah, they got it," Sam replied.
"I guess that's something," Callen said. He let out an inadvertent whimper as a particularly sharp bolt of pain shot through his abdomen. "Sorry," he murmured.
"Why are you sorry?" Sam asked in genuine confusion. "You don't have anything at all to be sorry about, G. I know you're in a lot of pain."
"I just…I don't want to make things worse for you."
"What are you talking about? You're not making anything worse," Sam said. "I want you to tell me the truth about how you're feeling, okay? No sugar coating."
"I'm sorry I got you into this," Callen said softly, not agreeing to Sam's request.
"You didn't," Sam said.
"Yes, I did. I know it's because of me that we're in this mess. You wouldn't have been captured if you hadn't been trying to help me."
"Come on, man…It's not your fault. I want you to stop thinking like that. You need to be focusing all your energy on getting well, okay?"
Callen didn't say anything which worried Sam more than he wanted to admit. "G? Did you hear me?"
"I heard you, Sam," Callen said quietly. "I'll try."
"You need to do more than try," Sam said. His thoughts were going places he didn't want them to go. He was trying not to think of the enclosed space they were locked in. Although it wasn't the same as when he and Brian, one of his Navy seal teammates, had been buried alive in Bosnia, he couldn't help but dwell on the similarities. That situation had ended badly. He wasn't sure he'd be able to get through it if this one ended like that. "I need you, buddy. You need to hang tough."
Callen remained silent which worried Sam. He didn't like that he couldn't see his partner's expression which would help him to get a better idea of G's condition and where his head was at...not that he was under any illusion that his partner was doing particularly well. "You asleep?" Sam finally whispered.
"No… How long do you think before they find us?" Callen asked.
"I don't know," Sam admitted. "Hopefully not too long. You know our team, G…they're persistent. They're not going to give up on us."
"Yeah, I know, Sam," Callen said. He remained quiet again for a short time before speaking again. "Are you doing okay?"
"Me? I'm not the one who was shot."
"I know, but, I also know this isn't exactly your idea of a fun situation," Callen said. At the moment, he was inwardly fighting to stay still. The pain he was in was starting to go beyond what he could cope with. "You're thinking about Brian, aren't you?"
"What? No," Sam lied.
"Yes you are…I know it's not the same, but…It's not that different either." Callen's breathing was getting harsher. "I…I need to move," he said, suddenly struggling to free himself from his partner's grasp, badly needing to change his position.
Sam quickly let go of Callen. "I'm sorry, G," he said.
Callen moved away from his partner and curled onto his side on the ice-cold floor. He pillowed his head against his right arm and pressed his left arm over his abdomen as he unsuccessfully tried to block out some of the pain. He couldn't ever remember hurting this badly before. At least when he'd been shot on Venice Beach he'd passed out and spent much of the time while hospitalized warm and in a drug-induced haze.
"G? What can I do for you?" Sam asked, a note of desperation in his voice, willing to do anything in his power to help his friend.
"I…I don't know," Callen admitted. "I…I don't think there's anything you can do…"
Sam tentatively reached out into the darkness and his hand landed on his partner's back. He then moved so that he could curl up behind him and once again attempt to keep Callen at least a little bit warmer. "I'm right here with you, G," he said. "You're not alone."
Callen closed his eyes, Sam's presence making him feel a little bit better, and finally he was able to drop off to sleep.
xxxxx
From the evenness of Callen's breathing, Sam could tell that his partner had finally fallen asleep. He wished he could think of some way out of this hellhole. He didn't know how long G would be able to last without some proper medical attention. As hard as he tried to keep them at bay, images of Brian kept invading his thoughts. He couldn't even imagine if something like that was to happen to his best friend. He and Brian had been teammates, comrades in arms and close just by the definition of the missions they had gone through together, but it was nothing like his relationship with G. "You need to get through this, buddy," he whispered. "You have to." Now that Michelle was gone from his life, his team and Callen meant everything to him. He had always been willing to give his life for any one of them, but now, especially, he just knew he couldn't lose his partner…his brother. "You need to keep fighting, please G…for me…"
xxxxx
They were hungry, filthy and exhausted, but Deeks, Kensi, Eric and Nell remained single-minded in their determination to find Callen and Sam, hopefully alive. They were working nonstop along with the rescue team who had been assembled to search for their missing team members. So far, two bodies had been found in the rubble from the explosion, but luckily, it had been easily determined that neither of the bodies bore any resemblance to their friends. Even with the less than favorable odds, each of them refused to give up hope that somehow Callen and Sam had managed to survive the blast.
Deeks and Eric picked up a large piece of wood and tossed it aside as Kensi came over to them, carrying two bottles of water. "Here guys," she said handing one to each of them. "You don't want to get dehydrated."
Both men stopped momentarily as they took the water and gratefully sipped it. "I wonder where they are," Kensi asked, verbalizing the thought in all of their heads. "Callen was already hurt before the explosion. If we don't find him soon…" She trailed off, knowing that the hopes of finding either of their teammates alive after this explosion were extremely slim. Sam's SOS message had been brief, but they knew that Callen had been shot and the situation was dire.
Deeks was the one to find it, after about another hour or so of fruitless searching. His eyes widened with hope as he came across the small notch in the floor. "Hey guys, look at this," he called out. Kensi, Eric and Nell came over and helped to clear the rest of the debris from the trap door. "Maybe we have a reason to be hopeful after all," Deeks said, his eyes bright as he pulled open the door and the team peered through the opening at the stairway leading downward into darkness.