A/N: Wow, thank you for all the reviews! I'm sorry I haven't responded to everyone personally this week. On top of last week's situation, we now find ourselves with one less job… and that job happened to be the one with all the health and dental insurance. So that's fun…
A/N: Warnings for language and intense situations.
"Shall we begin?"
But rather than jump immediately into whatever torture he had planned, Zhang Jian opted to 'soften them up' a bit first. Demanding to know where "it" was, he left his burly guards to carry out the punishment as they saw fit, and so each wrong answer was accompanied by a sharp blow or stinging slap, leaving Danny sore and bruised with a slight tingling in his jaw. And from the sound of things, Steve appeared to be faring no better.
"Where is it?" Jian demanded again from somewhere across the room, and a methodical slap followed the demand a few seconds later when no answer was given. "Where." Slap. "Is." Slap. "It?" Slap.
Annoyed, Danny jerked his head toward the voice. "I don't know! Steve doesn't know! Tell your Meat Tenderizer here to lay off! I can't remember what I don't know!"
"He's telling the truth," Steve corroborated angrily. "We don't know what 'it' is. What are you looking for?"
"What am I looking for? Really?" Jian's footsteps crossed the room and stopped just in front of Steve. "You have had how many days- three? four?- and you still have no idea why the horse is important?"
"We already know about the drugs," Steve said, trying to buy time and spare his partner from another round of blows. Danny had borne the brunt of it so far.
Somewhere nearby, Danny spit a wad of blood onto the floor and massaged his cut lip with his tongue. Wisely, he kept his mouth shut as Steve kept Jian and his henchmen distracted.
"The horse is carrying an unknown amount of pharmaceuticals," Steve continued, "probably in its 'horn.' We know you and others are interested in acquiring them for resale. And no, we don't know where the drugs are." As he spoke, he stiffened, bracing for the blow that he felt sure was soon to come
"Drugs?" Jian sounded incredulous. "You think this is about a handful of pills?" He clucked in disappointment as he paced back and forth between the two men. "I thought Five-0 was Hawaii's best, but this is really quite sad."
"Yeah, well, we're down a few people at the moment," Danny put in.
"Ah, yes. Kelly and Kalakaua. They must be the brains behind the operation because all I see here is brawn… and not much of that, either." Reaching under Danny's shirt, he seized a piece of skin between his fingers and pulled as the detective grimaced. "Not really the same build as your partner, are you? A little softer, I'd say."
"Bite me, Bobby Flay," Danny growled through gritted teeth.
Jian chuckled. "Ah, so you're the comic relief, Detective. Perhaps I should go find the rest of your task force and try this little exercise with them since I don't seem to be making much progress with either one of you two."
"Good luck with that," Danny grunted. "They're out of town."
"Really?" Jian clucked his tongue. "A shame. I suppose we shall have to play a different game. This one involves water… but I think you already knew that."
There was a squeak as a faucet was turned and water splashed across the floor.
"Oh, stop squirming, Detective Williams." Jian sounded slightly annoyed, as though Danny were a pet or small child.
Unable to see, Steve tensed as the sounds of his partner's harsh breathing reached his ears. He waited anxiously, his breath hot against his face under the hood. "What are you doing to him?" he demanded.
"You should be more concerned with what I am about to do to him," Jian returned. "At the moment, I am holding a towel over your partner's face- rather tightly, I might add- and he doesn't seem to like it. I haven't even wet it yet."
A very muffled "Go to hell!" was heard in response.
"Ah, yes, you are well on your way there, Detective Williams." There was a heavy splash and a spattering of water across the concrete before he spoke again. "Can you feel that, Detective? Just a bit damp, a few drops of water… Ah, you can feel it. Your pulse is racing." Jian tsked as he removed his fingers from Danny's wrist. "Feeling cooperative yet? Or would you like more?"
Seated not far away, Steve grimaced. Of course Danny didn't like it. Danny was claustrophobic. He probably felt like he was suffocating. "What do you want to know?" he called.
"Suddenly cooperative, Commander McGarrett? But I haven't even begun the fun part yet."
On the other side of the room, Danny twisted his head as the damp towel tightened around his face, sucking in a frightened, wheezy breath through the heavy cloth. He could hear vague voices as his partner argued with Jian, but he was too focused on breathing to comprehend what was being said. Suddenly, the towel was removed and cool, dry air washed over his mouth and nose. Someone patted his face and squeezed, a warning. "Go ahead, Detective. Talk. Tell Commander McGarrett how much you are enjoying this little game."
It took Danny a moment to catch his breath and find his voice. "Changed my mind, babe… let's not go to the Escape Room…. this weekend," he rasped. "This is good…good enough for me."
Mr. Jian was less amused. "Quit wasting my time, Detective Williams. There is no escaping from this room until we get what we want. Where is it?"
" 'Where is it?' " Danny drew in another lungful of air and launched into a rant before Steve could stop him. "A better question is, 'What is it?' It could be anything: papers, thumb drive, key ring, old coke bottle…"
"Danny…"
Annoyed, Danny ignored Steve's quiet warning and kept going: "And the only reason to kidnap us to get this Thing is that it must be really important. Like the bootleg copy of the next Star Wars film. Or maybe the cure for cancer? Or how about nuclear launch codes?"
Jian had had enough. "Shut up!"
Steve winced at the loud smack and was relieved when his partner fell silent. "Mr. Jian, the horse in the back of the trailer is exactly like we found him. Just the harness- nothing else. You have the animal. If this thing is on it, you can search for it yourself."
"You think I haven't done that? My men have thoroughly searched the horse. It isn't there."
Of course it wasn't. And the obvious assumption was that Steve and Danny had taken it, whatever it was, and hidden it somewhere since they had already been searched. Steve tried to think of another logical option, something to divert the man's anger elsewhere. "The horse has been missing for almost three days. Maybe it fell off?" Steve suggested.
"Unlikely."
"You searched us- we haven't taken it. And like Danny said, I don't even know what it is." Steve didn't hear the fist swinging through the air toward him until it collided with his jaw. He jerked sideways, his momentum stopped suddenly by the handcuffs biting into his wrists.
"Steve?" Danny called out worriedly as Steve sank to one knee, shaking his head and working his jaw carefully.
"Your commander is pushing his luck," Jian explained. "Perhaps he will respond better to this."
The towel was thrown back of Danny's face so quickly that he didn't have a chance to take a breath. There was no gentle sprinkling of water this time; instead, with a cold splash, the entire bucket was dumped over his head. He gasped from the sudden shock, inhaled, choked, and then jerked against the straps restraining him to the bench, fighting for air.
Though unable to see, Steve heard the splash and subsequent struggle and could guess what had occurred. "Stop!" he called out. "Stop it!"
But the sounds did not stop.
"Well, Commander? Your partner is waiting."
"I don't know what the fuck it is!" Steve growled out. "Tell me what it is and maybe I can help you!"
"You don't know?" Jian whipped the towel away from Danny's mouth. Danny sucked in breath in a loud gasp, hacking and coughing as he cleared the water from his lungs. "You are playing games with the life of your friend- do you realize that?"
"I'm not the one torturing him," Steve returned. "You can waterboard Danny until he drowns-"
"Don't… don't give him… any ideas," Danny managed hoarsely between breaths.
"-but that won't change the fact that neither of us know about this object you want. Eventually," Steve pressed angrily, "one of us will break, but it won't be the answer you'll want. We don't know what you want, so whatever we say will be a lie. If you want reliable information, ask a question that we can answer."
The room was quiet for a long minute. Except for the dripping water and the harsh sound of Danny's breathing, nothing else could be heard. At last, Jian spoke.
"A question you can answer?" His footsteps crossed the room at a quick clip, stopping just before Steve. "And what kind of question might that be?"
"I don't know. You tell me. What else do you want to know?"
Without warning, Jian brought his shoe down on Steve's hand. Steve's sudden, involuntary cry of pain shut the rant Danny was about to deliver, at least temporarily. Jian stepped back and kicked Steve with his foot. "I want to know where Daniel Ma is. I want to know where his wife and daughter are. I want to know what your real mission is. And I want to know where the information is. Pick one. Pick any of them. Give me the right answer and I might- might- spare your partner's life."
On the other side of the room, the refilled bucket of water had begun to overflow. A trickle of water, having journeyed across the floor, found Steve's pants and began to soak through the material. Steve brought his legs under him and pulled himself carefully upright. Eyes closed, he turned his face in the direction of his captor. "You know, Mr. Jian, that I can't tell you anything that you want to know."
"No? What about Daniel Ma's arrest? Surely some part of that is public knowledge."
"He was arrested Sunday afternoon." That, at least, was public knowledge and Steve felt no guilt in providing the information.
"Who arrested him? He isn't at HPD."
Why do you care? Steve wanted to ask. What interested did a Chinese mobster have in a Russian-American computer technician? "We don't know. It's a separate case, not our jurisdiction."
"But you visited his wife and daughter."
"To learn about the horse."
Jian began to chuckle. "You expect me to believe that the Five-0 task force, Hawaii's finest, were only told to find the missing horse? And in three days, you've failed to learn anything about who Mr. Ma really is or what the animal is carrying? Forgive me if I don't believe you."
Danny spoke up. "We've been busy."
"Clearly," Jian said drily. Pivoting sharply on his heel, he crossed the room to the detective's side. Slapping the towel over Danny's mouth and nose, he turned the hose on the detective's face. "How long do you think your partner can last, Commander?"
Steve winced as Danny writhed and pounded against the bench in the background. "Don't inhale, Danny!" he called. "Don't- oomph!" Steve sank to his knees under the force of the blow, the cuffs biting into his wrists as he collapsed against the pillar. Danny's struggle continued as Steve wheezed for breath. "Let him… let him go, Jian," he begged as he caught his breath.
"That's not how this game works," Jian said blandly as a gargled scream escaped from Danny's mouth under the stream of water.
"I can't tell you what you want to know." Steve had begun counting, registering each agonizing second in the back of his mind.
"Can't or won't?"
"Even if I could, you should know I wouldn't."
"At the expense of your partner's life?"
Steve didn't answer. He couldn't. Oaths be damned; he wouldn't be the one to tell Grace that he had sacrificed her father for some drug lord. "No," he whispered.
The water stopped. Danny retched, then coughed raggedly in short gasps. "Danny?" Steve lost track of Jian as he focused wholly on his partner. "Danny!" he shouted.
Danny wheezed, coughed, choked on something- whether vomit or bile or water Steve didn't know- and retched again.
"Commander." Jian was apparently standing next to Steve. "McGarrett!"
But Steve's focus was elsewhere. As Danny's coughing settled and began to calm, Steve remained singularly focused, his body poised toward his partner, tense with fierce concern. "Come on Danny," Steve encouraged, oblivious to everything else around him. "You're okay- breathe. Just breath."
"Commander McGarrett!" Jian demanded Steve's attention with a sharp slap to the face. "Where is Daniel Ma?"
But Danny had a different question. Still panting as he recovered his breath, it took him a moment to push the words out. "How… long?"
"How long what?" Jian returned, not catching the intended meaning. But Steve understood
"Ten seconds longer than average, Danny."
"Heh…" Danny cleared his throat. "Not bad… for a Jersey haole… eh?"
No, it wasn't bad at all. In fact, it was downright impressive. Steve was certainly stunned by his normally water-phobic friend, but Danny's accomplishment was only prolonging their painful and torturous captivity… one from which Steve could think of no escape.
"Not bad?" Jian mused, apparently now understanding the previous question. "So are you enjoying yourself, Mr. Williams? Tell me where Mr. Ma is, and I will spare you the next round."
"Tell me what… the Mystery Thing is… and I'll think about it," Danny spat back.
Steve stiffened. "Shut up, Danny." Let me handle this. It was no time for snarky comments, but Danny didn't get the message. He was on a roll.
"I'm serious, Steven. This freakin' horse has something so valuable that Dingus here is willing to kidnap and torture two cops to get it. Who looks at a horse and thinks, 'I know, I'll hide this really important stuff on this animal.' ? What is it? Biowarfare formulas? Nuclear launch codes? Buried treasure?"
"You should have listened to your partner, Detective Williams," Jian said softly. Throwing the towel forcefully over Danny's face, he turned the nozzle of the hose over on him and calmly addressed Steve. "You want to know what 'it' is? The horse should have a thumb drive hidden on it with information, information that is rather valuable to us." Ignoring the loud thumping as Danny pounded his feet against the bench, he continued, "Unfortunately, after an extensive search, it has not been found." Danny kicked and struggled on, his screams reduced to a muted drone.
"Stop! Let him breathe, Jian!" Steve pleaded. "A dead cop is no good to you."
"First let me finish." Jian must have passed the running hose to one of his men because he approached Steve now. "There are other problems with your horse. It is not the size that we have heard reported for the missing horse. It is not quite the right color. And finally," Jian stopped in front of Steve and with the toe of his shoe, he prodded Steve uncomfortably, "it is the wrong gender."
Shit.
"Do you know what I think?" Jian nudged Steve again with his shoe. "I think this is the wrong horse." Turning away, he shouted something in Chinese. The water was shut off. Steve strained to hear some sound in the sudden, eerie quiet, but Danny made no noise.
"Danny?" Hesitantly, Steve tried again. "Danny? Talk to me, buddy."
Finally, with a prolonged gasp, Steve heard Danny suck in a badly-needed breath. He sagged against the cold, iron beam in relief. "You're okay, Danny. Just breathe."
In front of him, Jian's foot tapped impatiently. "Well? Am I wrong? Did you give me the wrong horse?"
As Danny coughed and spit and dry-heaved, Steve debated how to answer the question. "We never gave you a horse," he said finally.
Jian skipped blithely over his excuse. "I find it interesting that two horses of similar color should go missing in the same week. And I find it equally odd that two of Hawaii's finest are sent to fetch said horse while disguised as Animal Control officers. Can you explain that?"
Having satisfactorily cleared his lungs, Danny lay abnormally quiet. Steve regarded his friend's silence as a severe warning; whatever happened, he needed to end this now. But he had no good ideas, no suitable plans, and no decent answer to Jian's question.
"Well, Commander?"
When Steve failed to answer, Jian turned away. "No? Unfortunate." With a squeak, the hose returned to life.
"No! No, please!" Danny begged in muffled tones from under the towel. "I can't-" but his words were drowned out in a gasp as the water hit his face. He gargled, choked, and then went completely silent.
Steve listened in growing horror. "Jian! Don't! Just… just let me think!" Steve pleaded painfully.
"Think?" Jian crouched near him, his breath hot in Steve's ear. "Think about what, Commander? It is a simple question."
"I just need a minute. Please." Listening attentively to the noise in the background, Steve noted Danny's persistent silence and the lack of struggle. No noise at all, vocal or otherwise, emanated from the man. Steve knew Danny couldn't take much more, if any. Already, he had gone far beyond the average man. How much more could he bear?
But Danny answered that question for him.
"Mmmmpgh!" With surprising volume, the Jersey detective suddenly made himself heard under the towel and the stream of water.
"Stop!" Jian ordered. "Excuse me, Commander." Patting Steve's cheek roughly Jian crossed the room and pulled the towel from Danny's face. "Yes, Detective? You have something to say?"
"St… stop… please…" With a sob and a wet inhale, Danny trembled as he finally let go of his last ounce of will power. "I'll tell you anything… just no more, please… no more."
Steve cursed under his breath and dropped his head.
Danny Williams was broken.
A/N: Also, I took my best guess at how this would work. Apologies if the descriptions aren't accurate. Giving Danny a short-duration whump just isn't as much fun, but dragging it out beyond what Steve could do would be unrealistic. Since this was very much on-again, off-again, I felt okay dragging it on a bit since D could initially catch his breath between sessions. If Jian were doing it properly, Danny would only be allowed a breath or two between takes, not what is depicted here.
Also, since life hasn't been nice lately, I decided to split this chapter and have more Danny whump in the next one as well! Misery loves company, right?