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"Because thinking of Matt still hurts too much." Sam admitted. He closed his eyes to keep the threatening tears from spilling over.

The Team was stunned. Not just because some of them had met Matt and Sam before, but because their rookie just admitted to being human. Sam had put off an all soldier front. Made it seem like nothing could bother him. In fact, the first sign that Sam wasn't a superhuman was this morning when he allowed a bit of emotion creep into his discussion with Ed.

As Greg observed his rookie he realized that he had seriously failed their new Teammate. He had not once sat down with him and tried to get to know him. Unfortunately it seemed like now he wouldn't get the chance. He may have just been too late to connect with the ex-soldier. He hoped he was wrong.

Chapter 3 - Phase One

Sam lay for several long minutes as he processed his emotions. Killing Matt had hurt just as much as losing Anna Marie had. It had been his fault, again, that someone close to him was dead. It could have been prevented! As Sam worked to lock all the feelings of guilt and loss away once again his mind drifted to his current situation. He had to get his Team out of this. It didn't matter that they had treated him like crap, or that they probably wanted to scorpio his ass right now for them being in this situation. Sam knew that he had to do everything that he could to protect them. To get them out of here in one piece. He couldn't do any more for Anna Marie or Matt right now. But he could protect his Team to the best of his ability. He would protect them until his dying breath if that's what it took.

"I'm sorry you all were dragged into this. I know none of what happened is your fault." Sam looked at each of his Teammates as he spoke. He could see that most of them were still reeling from the fact that they had met both he and Matt before. It was time to get them to focus. "Ed, we need to get you guys out of here. Mark is going to be brutal in his search for revenge and it's not something you guys need to see or experience."

Greg had been watching Sam closely and knew the exact moment the rookie had locked away his emotions and focused instead on what to do. Sam's soldier persona was coming out in full force. Greg almost laughed at the thought, they were finally about to see what Sam was really capable of.

"What do you mean by brutal?" Ed asked as he looked at the Rookie closely. Something had just changed in Sam and Ed was partially terrified about the prospect of seeing what Sam was really capable of.

"I mean like the Merriam Webster definition: extremely cruel or harsh, very direct and accurate in a way that is harsh or unpleasant, very bad or unpleasant." Sam answered.

"Wait...you have the definition of brutal memorized?" Spike asked with furrowed brows.

"Yeah." Sam answered as he kept his eyes locked with Ed's.

"You said knowing Mark he would be brutal. How do you know that?" Greg asked, his brain switching to profiler mode.

"Mark is in the Army. His specialty is training Special Forces soldiers in interrogation techniques and resistance." Sam replied as he looked to his boss. "He's spent the last few years studying the enemy and their interrogation techniques, no matter how brutal and inhumane they seem, and has been teaching them to JTF2. He teaches them the techniques, and then ways to withstand them."

"So he know plenty of ways to make a man suffer then." Lou stated quietly.

"Exactly, which is why we need to get you guys out of here." Sam answered. He turned his head to look at Jules. "Do you wear bobby pins?"

"Sometimes, but I don't have any on me today." Jules answered.

Sam nodded. He thought that would be the answer, but he had to ask anyway.

"Anyone have a pen, or paperclip? Something we can use to pick these locks?" Ed asked, catching on to what Sam was thinking.

The whole Team checked all their pockets looking for anything that they could use. Sadly they came up with nothing.

"Spike, look around closely. Do you see any types of surveillance or countermeasures that could hamper an escape?" Sam questioned as he looked to their tech genius.

Spike took a deep breath as he looked around closely. He checked all the corners, the door, the light fixtures, everything he could think of.

"I don't see anything out of the ordinary. But..." Spike answered, then hesitated.

"But what Spike?" Greg heard the slight concern in Spike's voice.

"But...that plate under you Sam. I can't tell what's under it and I have a bad feeling about it." Spike reluctantly answered.

"You think it's rigged?" Lou asked as he looked closely at the steel plate.

"I don't know. I just have a gut feeling about it." Spike answered.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about that." Sam took in a deep breath. He really wished that there was enough slack in the chains for him to sit up. He hated feeling helpless, and that's exactly how he felt right now. "Look guys, I know how hard it's going to be when he comes back in here. I need you guys to promise me something. No matter what he does to me, don't blame yourselves. This is all on me, every bit of it. Don't let him use me against you guys in any way. Promise me!" Sam met the eyes of each person in the room. Begged them to understand and agree.

"We promise Sam. But you have to promise to do the same thing. Don't let him use one of us against you." Ed answered for the Team.

Greg suppressed a sigh. He knew that that was exactly what Mark intended to do. He was going to use the Team to bring more pain to Sam. This wouldn't be just physical torture. It would be emotion and psychological as well.

Sam was about to answer but before he could say anything the door opened and Mark with goons one, two, and three came in. Mark was sporting a devilish grin which clearly meant trouble. Goon one walked over to Jules and held a weapon pointed at her head.

"Braddock, you are going to do exactly what I tell you to. Otherwise I'll let him blow her brains out. Do you understand?" Mark ashed as he came to stand over Sam.

"Understood." Sam answered simply. He wouldn't let anything happen to Jules if he could help it.

"I'm going to have my men unshackle you. You will stand, remove your boots, socks, and shirt. You will then walk over to the wall and allow them to restrain you once again. Failure to comply, or any attempt at escape will result in her brains painting the wall behind her and my men using these cattle prods on you. Understood?" Mark explained.

Sam simply nodded his head. He pushed down all his natural instincts to try and take down these men knowing that him doing so would result in Jules' demise. He refused to have another death on his hands. Once the goons unshackled him he stood in place and stripped off his boots, socks, and shirt.

The whole Team was shocked. Somehow Sam had managed to not be shirtless in front of any of them. Therefore none of them had been ready to see the scars that were on Sam's chest and back. As Greg, Ed, and Wordy watched Sam walk towards the shackles on the wall they each felt for the ex-soldier who had clearly been through more than any of them had known.

As Sam was directed to the far wall he worked to mentally prepare himself for whatever may be coming. He knew it was going to be painful, not just physically but emotionally as well. He hated the fact that his Team was going to have to bear witness to his pain. Sam vowed to himself to do everything within his power to keep from adding to their pain by crying out. It wouldn't help him, and it wouldn't help his Team. Silence would be the best course of action.

Sam was turned so his back was to the wall as the goons shackled his hands over his head. He didn't miss the fact that there was a shower head nearby and couldn't help but wonder what Mark had up his sleeve. He didn't have to wonder long.

"Edward Lane. Team Leader to the SRU's elite Team One. Husband to Sophie Lane and father to Clark Lane." Mark turned to Ed and smirked. "Is that about right?"

Ed simply glared at the man. He was pissed off that the man knew about his family.

"I hope you don't mind but I need your assistance for a bit." Mark nodded to the two goons that had shackled Sam to the wall and they came forward. "Same rules as with Braddock. You don't cooperate one hundred percent and I blow the brunettes brains all over the wall. Do you understand?"

Ed simply continued to glare. As the two goons approached him he did as instructed and didn't lash out. However, he did see the rage rolling off Sam in waves despite the man's silence.

The two goons brought Ed to the center of the room where the chains and shackles were hanging from the roof. Ed was thankful that once chained he was still able to keep both feet on the ground. Once he was restrained facing Sam, and where the whole Team could see him, Mark stepped away and motioned to goon one who was holding the gun to Jules' head. The three goons retreated to stand by the door to await further orders.

"I'm sure you're all wondering by now why I've brought you here. You probably think that it's not fair that I'm out for Sam's blood and yet you've been dragged into this. Well, let me enlighten you." Mark slowly walked around the room, smiling at each member of Team One. "You are here purely to provide more pain and psychological torture for Braddock. You see, Braddock has an ingrained desire to protect people. He feels like it's his responsibility, his job, his mission in life. Nothing hurts him more than to see people hurt and not be able to do anything about it. Well, Braddock..." Mark turned back and looked at Sam. "...there is absolutely nothing you can do about this."

Mark nodded to one of his men who produced a baseball bat. Sam swallowed hard.

"Mark, please. Don't do this. I'm the one that killed Matt, not Ed. Please! I don't care what you do to me, just don't hurt him!" Sam pleaded.

"Didn't you hear me Braddock? This is going to happen and nothing that you say or do will stop me." Mark stated with finality as he stood directly in front of Sam. "Gag him."

One of the other goons stepped up and gagged Sam to keep him from saying anything.

The whole of Team One watched as the goon with the most muscles stepped up to Ed and prepared to swing the bat. They all knew that it was going to hurt. Each just hoped that it wouldn't injure Ed too badly. This wasn't just psychological torture for Sam but for all of them as well.

Ed ignored the goon that was standing at his side with a baseball bat raised and ready to swing. Instead he sought out Sam's eyes. He wanted the man to know that he would be okay. Despite the fact that he had been pissed at the rookie for them being in this position to start with.

As Sam watched the baseball bat was swung and hit Ed squarely in the torso. He screamed, as loud as he could through the gag, trying to get the man to stop. Instead Mark simply smirked at him. As blow after blow landed Sam's pleas landed on deaf ears. He could see that Ed was in pain and wished with every fiber of his being that he could be taking the beating instead of his TL. No one deserved to be punished for his mistake.

Ed sucked in a quick breath of air as the fourth hit landed. He had managed not to cry out in pain at the first few blows but he wasn't sure how much longer he would last. He was pretty sure by the end of things he would have bruised and cracked ribs, if they didn't break them instead. The man continued to hit him in the torso, legs, arms, back, practically everywhere but his head for which he was thankful. He could hear Sam screaming through the gag and knew that Sam was pleading for his release.

As a particularly hard blow landed to his chest Ed felt pain radiating out from his ribs. He could hold in the scream of pain no more. As hit after hit made contact his pain filled screams echoed through the room. He screwed his eyes shut tight and tried to let his mind drift to his family. He couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever see them again.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity the beating stopped. Mark walked over to Sam and removed the gag and received a glare from the bound man. He smirked before turning back to where Ed hung.

"How does it feel to be beaten because of another man's choices? I'm sure that you're quite angry at him at the moment." Mark chuckled. "Feel free to lay into him for what has happened to you."

Ed was breathing heavily as he tried to ignore the pain in is body. He heard Mark, and he saw Sam looking at him and trying to see what the damage was.

"I'm okay Sam." Ed stated as he met the young man's gaze. "I'm stronger than I look. I can take it."

Suddenly a hard blow hit Ed in the jaw. As he looked up he felt where the blow had split his lip.

"I'm sorry Ed." Sam said quietly. "Mark, please, stop this. I am the one you want. I am the one that deserves to be beaten. Not Ed. He's not the one that shot a .50 caliber round through your brother. I am!"

"Oh, I know." Mark stated with a calmness that terrified every member of Team One. "But watching you cry out for the release of your Teammate is something I will cherish forever. If only you had cared about my brother as much as you care for this Team maybe he would still be with us today." Mark turned away from Sam. "Put him back with the others."

Two goons stepped forward and released Ed from the shackles. He fell to the ground with a thud as he hit the hard, concrete floor. The goons dragged him back to where he had originally been shackled and threw him against the wall. Ed couldn't help the groan that escaped.

Once his hands were once again in shackles the two goons turned back to their boss.

"Now, to give you a little taste of what your Team Leader just went through." Mark said to Sam before nodding to his three comrades before turning and walking out of the room. As he heard the sounds of fists connecting with flesh he smiled and thought, Phase One: Complete.

AN: Well, it has begun. What do you think?