Dahmer started talking the moment he stepped foot in the MRI room. "Rhianna, darling. I'm sorry, but we need to go."
Rhianna looked up from her monitor in surprise. "What? Why? I've only just started-"
"There's a chance we can come back another night, we need to go now," Dahmer stated firmly.
Rhianna started arguing and Gus used the small break to catch his breath from the forced cardio. He couldn't see Shawn's face from where he was standing, but he could hear him still keeping himself in a memory even as a few thoughts clicked in curiosity.
Dahmer sighed as he relented. "Very well, five minutes to print scans. But then we have to be going."
Rhianna nodded and turned back to the monitor with a frantic energy. The MRI machine grew quiet, the table moved back out, and Shawn's thoughts started clicking quickly as he emerged from the chamber. Dahmer looked at Gus and growled, "You have until she's done."
He shoved Gus forward roughly, not letting go of the belt until it pulled tight. Gus stumbled and coughed quietly once the strap around his throat let him breathe again. He glanced back as he limped towards Shawn and immediately flinched as Dahmer threw the duct tape with a frustrated yell.
The roll of tape wasn't aimed at him though, and Shawn moved fast, propping himself up and catching the projectile before it could hit him. Gus gave him a small, relieved smirk as he limped the rest of the way over, forcibly ignoring how the belt strap slapped against his back with every step.
Shawn sat up the rest of the way with a wince as his eyes flicked over to where Dahmer was pacing and muttering to himself. He broadcasted a question: A red-head superspy, "What's the sitch?"
Gus glanced back, making sure that Dahmer wasn't coming up behind him, before placing himself right in front of Shawn, blocking him from the bad guy's sight. He didn't like having his back to Dahmer, or having the belt strap in such easy reach, but it was worth it if Shawn could talk safely. He spoke quietly as he unrolled the splint. "Cops found the house."
Shawn's eyes lit up and he matched Gus' volume as he asked, "How do you know?"
"Some kind of alarm," Gus answered as he started to bend the edges of the splint inwards to make it more rigid. "He had a burner phone on him."
"Huh, so that's what that box next to the door was…" Shawn eyed Gus' project and asked in an anxious voice, "How did you get that?"
Gus frowned and looked up, not expecting the almost panicked look on Shawn's face as he waited for an answer. Gus decided a bit of humiliation wasn't that big of a deal, all things considered, so he just clicked his tongue softly and answered, "I promise, nothing bad. I've told you before, man, I've got sale's reptitude. The proof is in the splint." He lifted the splint with a faint smirk.
Shawn relaxed and gave him a small, relieved grin back. "We're back on reptitude again? Didn't we retire that phrase like four years ago?"
Gus smirked for real, feeling lighter between Shawn sounding like himself and the hope still bubbling in his chest. He flipped the splint over to start bending the other end. "I stopped saying it around you, didn't mean I wasn't thinking it."
Shawn huffed a small laugh before nodding to the splint. "What do you need me to do?"
"Well…" Gus finished the other side and fumbled slightly before finding a way to fold the long strip in half while his hands were cuffed. "Your heel goes in the bend, the strips go up your leg, and I tape it all up to keep it in place. I wish I could stabilize the knee, but…"
Shawn nodded. "Trunk."
"Yeah, trunk."
Shawn scooted around, turning his body so he could start to slide his legs out from under the lab coat and off the side of the table. Gus watched in confusion. "What are you doing?"
"Easier to wrap it this way, it's gonna be hard enough with the cuffs," Shawn explained before pausing for a breath and reaching towards his broken leg.
Gus stopped him. "Let me do it, I can brace it better."
He waited for Shawn to nod before he brought the splint over to the leg and gently slid it into position. He slipped the handcuff chain under the foot and spread his hands apart before gripping the two sides of the splint under the leg. He lifted and guided the leg over before kneeling down to lower it to the floor.
He kept one hand on the splint to keep it in place as he reached up with the other. "Tape."
"Tape," Shawn answered as he smacked the silver roll into Gus' hand like a nurse helping a doctor. Gus rolled his eyes fondly and saw that Shawn had already unstuck the end of the tape strip to make it easier to pull. Shawn snickered slightly as he kept his head down and turned slightly away from where Dahmer was hovering impatiently next to Rhianna. "You know, we really need to stop meeting like this."
Gus looked up to glare at him before suddenly realizing he was having to look up. Because he was kneeling. The pressure around his throat seemed to grow as he became re-aware of its existence, and he looked back down, busying himself with figuring out how exactly he was going to finish the splint job.
"Sorry," Shawn said softly before he reached down to hold the top of the splint in place.
"I know," Gus said even quieter. He held up the duct tape in warning before pulling the strip from the roll, the sound filling the room. Shawn didn't show any outward signs of being bothered, but Gus could hear how his thoughts stuttered. There wasn't anything he could do about it, though, so he focused on the task at hand. He wrapped the tape around the top of the splint several times before tearing the strip from the roll and moving on to secure the bottom of the splint around Shawn's ankle and foot.
Gus wrapped the tape around Shawn's heel and accidentally caught his handcuff chain under the foot, causing it to pull up slightly. Shawn jolted back, his jaw clenched to stay quiet, and Gus whispered frantically, "Sorry, sorry, sorry..."
Shawn nodded and said tightly, "I know. Good news, though. I felt that."
"No shit," Gus muttered as he tore off the strip at Shawn's ankle.
"No, I mean, I felt the cuffs on my foot," Shawn clarified. Gus paused for a moment before nodding his head to the side in agreement. That was good news.
Gus was starting to wrap the tape just above the break in the bone when it happened. He felt new sensations at the edge of his psychic sense, the smooth feel of a good pen on paper and the taste of blueberry pancakes.
Gus tried to work faster as the sensations grew stronger. Shawn noticed the change. "What's going on?"
"Remember the other car?" Gus asked as he wrapped the tape around the leg one more time. "That person's in the hallway now."
Shawn checked that the bad guys were still occupied before speaking even quieter. "We could yell, warn them, tell them to call the cops."
Gus swallowed nervously as he tore the tape off. "We yell, one of us is probably dead."
"We don't yell, that person might be dead," Shawn countered, clearly not liking their options.
It was the scenario Gus had always dreaded, a choice between Shawn or a stranger. He knew his answer and he wasn't too proud to admit that it was partially fueled by his fear of Dahmer. He started the last wrap right below the break as he spoke in a tight voice, "Cops know we're here, or they will soon. We just have to survive a little longer…"
Shawn touched his shoulder and he reluctantly looked up at his friend. Hazel eyes held his for a few seconds before sliding down to the belt on his neck. Shawn nodded slightly, looking away. Gus went back to work, he just had to finish the last wrap before-
"Hello? Is there anyone here?" A man's voice called from the hallway.
Gus could feel Dahmer rushing their way as he ripped the strip from the roll, dropping the tape quickly and grabbing Shawn's offered hand as he tried to stand before the inevitable happened. He was only part way up when Dahmer grabbed the belt right next to the buckle and pulled him away from Shawn.
Gus scrambled to keep his feet under him as he grabbed the strap around his throat, trying to keep it from going any tighter. A hand roughly shoved down on his shoulder and he fell back to his knees as he suddenly remembered one of his rules. He dropped his hands back down as Dahmer kept pressure on the belt, pulling up slightly to force him to stay in his upright kneeling position. Gus wheezed for breath as his head was held still right next to the bad guy's side. He knew what the position looked like, and he hated Dahmer for it.
Cool, sharp metal pressed into the skin just below his jaw and Gus tried to stretch up even straighter to get away from the blade. Dahmer's voice was barely louder than a whisper, but it seemed to fill the room as he growled out, "Not one sound."
Gus looked over without moving and saw Shawn sitting deadly still with his hands held out in surrender.
The voice called out again, "I know someone's here, I saw your car. Don't worry, you're not in trouble- Huh."
Gus could hear the footsteps now, moving closer to the door. The door with a frosted window that was shining light into the hallway. He forced himself to keep his eyes open; if the man died because of him, the least he could do was watch.
The whole room seemed to hold its breath as a silhouette of a head came into view and the doorknob began to turn.
Dahmer's thoughts cracked frantically, and Gus tried to prepare himself for being dragged around again as the door opened and a slightly overweight man with balding hair and laugh lines around his eyes stepped through. The man's eyes grew wide as he took in the room: Shawn, sitting on the MRI table with his hands held out and a duct-taped splint on his leg; Gus, kneeling and being partially strangled with dry blood on his face; Dahmer, holding a knife to Gus' throat with his hand wrapped up in the belt holding Gus still.
The man gaped like a fish out of water as Rhianna spoke up, one of her hands held low and out of sight. "Jack, it's ok."
The man spun around and his eyes grew even wider. "Rhi?! How are you- We were told- What's going on?!"
Rhianna held up one of her hands in a calming manner. "I know it's a lot to take in, just give me a chance to explain."
"Explain?!" Jack looked around again, as if the scene could have changed in less than a minute. "You- you were kidnapped!"
"Well… yes," Rhianna agreed as she walked slowly towards him, "but I'm ok, see? Jeffery never wanted to hurt me, he wanted to help. I have proof now. My research, I was right."
Jack looked at her in bewilderment as he took a small step backwards towards the door. "…You can't be serious. You're… He's… This is about research?"
"What else would it be about?" Rhianna asked with a small smile. "And it's incredible. The things I've learned in just a few days…"
"Learned… How-" Jack looked back over at Gus, his eyes frantic. "These men are hurt. I- I think they've been tortured. How is that…" He looked back at Rhianna with growing realization. "You think this is ok."
Rhianna's eyes quickly skimmed over them, and Gus realized she hadn't actually looked directly at him since they'd left the car. She tightened her lips. "It didn't have to be that way, but they didn't listen. They're the key to everything and this is the only way to make them behave. This is big, bigger than you could ever imagine. It's certainly bigger than them."
Dahmer's thoughts cracked pink; Shawn's ponged in disgust. Gus fought to breathe.
Jack took another small step back as he spoke softly, as if Rhianna was a spooked horse he needed to calm, "Rhi… Rhianna. I know you're desperate, but this isn't the way."
"I'm not desperate, I'm right," Rhianna said as she took another step towards her friend. "I can show you, I can prove it. You've been with me from the beginning, you know my research almost as well as I do. Work with us. Help us rewrite everything we know about the human mind."
Gus could feel the pen running across the paper frantically: Fear, bad guy with a scalpel, a list of visible injuries, a cell phone a few hallways over, a desperate calculation.
Gus knew if Jack ran, Dahmer would chase him. And Gus knew he could probably slow Dahmer down, but it wouldn't go unnoticed. The choice was even harder to make the second time around. He tried to catch Shawn's eyes; he didn't know what to do.
Shawn pinged his trust and readiness as he watched Dahmer carefully: A lawyer with a coin, "You either die a hero or you live long enough to become the villain."
Gus started working harder to get more air in his lungs, he'd need it for the fight ahead. Shawn was right. They couldn't just sit there while someone else was hurt. They weren't Rhianna.
Jack spoke up after a long moment. "Rhi, I want to help you. You could do amazing work. Not like this."
Time seemed to stretch and slow as several things happened all at once. Jack spun towards the door, Dahmer's thoughts cracked as he prepared to run after him, Shawn dropped his hands to be ready to fight, and Rhianna brought her other hand out from behind her back with the resounding clack of a gun being cocked.
And something in the room snapped, shattering Gus' mental shield as the echo reverbed through his mind, tearing him apart.
Burning, everything was burning. Leg, brain, face, neck, arm, wrists, mind. And he could feel everything.
Rhianna had started looking into psychic abilities after she'd realized she'd never be able to fix her father; Dahmer had renamed himself after he killed for a second time; Shawn had accepted that he was going to die; Gus knew he was the reason Shawn hadn't escaped yet; Jack just wanted to take care of some safety reports...
His hands came up to press against the agony bursting behind his temples as his legs collapsed, leaving him hanging from the collar that was too tight to even allow him the luxury of screaming.
There were sounds outside his head; a loud bang, a surprised cry, words he barely understood.
"I can't let you go. You just need more time to understand!"
He didn't know which thoughts were his: The smell of peaches while he drank a pineapple smoothie, the feeling of relief when he could still open both hands, the sound of metal stomping and clicking against wood, the thud of two kids running into his legs, the satisfaction of watching a scalp peel away…
He was allowed to crumple to the ground and he curled in on himself, gasping and coughing for breath. Pain hit his back, distant like it was happening to someone else.
"It's not his fault, he's not doing it on purpose!"
"What's wrong with him?"
It wouldn't stop. It hurt and it wouldn't stop: A small house with a swing set, a business with a green logo, a brick building with broken windows, a blue house with a dog, a white house with red trim, Broadway theatre, black licorice, an announcer stating a word, the freedom of the open road, the beach…
"It's a psychic thing. You let me help him before, let me help him now!"
"If you try anything…"
"You kill us slow and painful so the other has to watch, I know. Can I help him now?"
Too much, it was all blending together: Hospitals candlelight dates writing papers blood chocolate chip cookies broken arms windinhishairharmoniesadrenalinsrushespain…
Balls hitting a wall and bouncing back, multiple thoughts staying in the air at a time. He felt Shawn, louder than the rest. Safe. There was warmth on the back of his head, a familiar weight of a friend's hand. Words spoken quiet, loud enough for others to hear but only meant for him, "Hey, buddy, I got you. You're ok, just breathe and listen, alright? Remember that movie we never finished? Four score and seven minutes ago, we, your forefathers, were brought forth upon a most excellent adventure…"
He listened to Shawn's voice, latching on and focusing, using the real sound to ground himself as everything else tried to pull him away. Shawn's thoughts and words were helping, but it still hurt.
"I know it hurts, man. You gotta help me with that shield, right?"
Shawn sent a small visual of a beaded brown necklace. The mental addition hurt, but at the same time, it didn't. Shawn couldn't hurt him, Shawn protected him. He focused on that fact and his shield slowly came back into existence. Gus breathed a sigh of relief as the pain spiking through his head began to fade and he could feel his own thoughts again, separate from everyone else.
"There you go. You back?"
Gus wasn't sure if he was ready to speak yet; he gave a small nod instead.
The collar -the belt, Gus reminded himself- pulled on his neck as Dahmer growled out, "That's good enough. Tell me, now, what just happened?"
"He told you, I've been having to help shield him. I couldn't do that while you were doing scans, but he was able to keep it up on his own until another person got added to the mix," Shawn bullshitted immediately, saving Gus from having to force his scrambled thoughts to come up with an answer.
"Rhianna, why- Why are they here?" A voice asked quietly from across the room.
Gus began to remember what had been happening before the… Event. He tried to force his mind to think properly as he sat up and took stock. Dahmer was a constant presence behind him, keeping just enough tension on the belt to be noticeable. Shawn was sitting next to him, his legs stretched out from where he had scooted over from the table. And Jack was standing in the corner near the door with his hands in the air as Rhianna covered him with the gun.
Gus stared at Rhianna and suddenly realized what the Event had been. Her pulling electrodes were still there, but the smell of lilies was completely gone. It had been replaced by the pull of a void where something had once been before it was ripped away.
She was like Dahmer now.
Rhianna met his eyes and smiled; he could almost swear she showed slightly too many teeth. "Tell him."
Gus spoke quietly around more shards of glass. "We're psychics."
Jack's jaw dropped and he seemed to speak by rote. "Psychics aren't real."
Rhianna looked at Gus expectantly and he looked back, waiting for an actual question. After a few seconds of silence her face fell and she glanced above him, towards Dahmer.
Shawn quickly spoke up to point out, "He didn't ask anything."
"That's enough from you, only speak when spoken to," Dahmer growled out. The belt stayed mercifully still.
"Of course." Rhianna shook her head and lightly informed Jack, "With the excitement, I forgot. They're only allowed to answer questions, they get distracted too easily otherwise."
"What happened to you?" Jack asked her. "The Rhianna I knew would never be ok with someone being treated like that."
"The 'Rhianna you knew' was never going to be able to do anything worthwhile with her hands being tied by the board and the politics and the fights for funding," Rhianna argued back. "You'll understand, you just don't see yet. Ask the acquired any question, something he shouldn't know. He'll prove what's possible."
"'The acquired', really?" Jack asked in disgust and disappointment. He ignored Rhianna as she started to explain and asked Gus his question. "What's your name?"
Gus wasn't sure why such a simple thing made him want to cry. He answered, "Gus. Burton Guster."
"Hi Gus, I'm Jack. Wish we were meeting under different circumstances." Jack smiled shakily and Gus returned it.
"Ask him a real question," Rhianna prompted impatiently.
Jack sighed and looked at Gus apologetically. "Can you prove you're a psychic?"
Gus started to speak before he fully knew what he was going to say. "You have a wife, two kids and a dog. Sam is starting to play trumpet; you told her that mornings are great practice times because you knew you'd be at work. Your wife tries to cook healthy but is way better at baking desserts than cooking vegetables. Daniel is a bookworm; he never wants to leave his room and is halfway through the Alex Rider series. You're proud of all of them. You're wondering if you'll ever-"
Dahmer gave the belt a warning tug. "That's enough."
Jack was staring in shock as Rhianna beamed and happily said, "I told you I was right!"
She continued to make her point, but Gus didn't care. He was working on pushing down everything else he suddenly realized he knew from when he'd been unshielded. One piece of information caught his attention and his eyes widened once he realized what it was.
Shawn pinged a curious question, but Dahmer stopped both sets of conversations with a snarled realization. "Damnit, we should have been out of here fifteen minutes ago. You," He spoke to Jack, "where are your car keys?"
"Th-they're in my office," Jack answered, his taste of pancakes turning bitter in fear.
"Rhianna, I'm going to need you to go get those for me in a minute." Dahmer's voice grew darker and he pulled the belt up, forcing Gus to sit as straight as he could. "You two, stay. You're in enough trouble as it is."
Dahmer dropped the belt and walked off to pick up the roll of duct tape. All eyes were on him as he moved and Gus took the small distraction to lean over and whisper quickly to Shawn, "New lab, abandoned car shop, brick, broken windows."
Shawn looked at him in surprise before his eyes went distant as he focused, his thoughts cresting while he tried to match the building described. His eyes lit up and he double checked with a visual of the abandoned shop. Gus nodded, feeling the flicker of hope stirring again. Shawn knew where it was.
Shawn frowned, his thoughts ponging faster, and he barely flinched at the sound of duct tape being pulled. Gus looked over towards the sound and saw Dahmer taping Jack's hands together. He finished and tossed the roll on a table before grabbing Jack's shoulder tightly. "You are a friend of Rhianna's, isn't that right, Jack?"
"It's Dr. Brown," Jack said, his voice shaking as he tried to maintain eye contact.
"Dr. Brown, I've heard a lot about you. You seem like an intelligent man, so I don't expect to have to say this more than once. Be polite and don't cause trouble. I'd hate for things to have to get messy…"
Jack swallowed at the obvious threat as he looked towards Shawn and Gus, his face paling as if he was looking into his future. He looked back at Dahmer and nodded miserably.
Dahmer patted his shoulder before reaching out for the gun. "Good, you're already doing better than these two ever did. Rhianna, darling, can you go get those keys for me now?"
Rhianna gave him a small smile and left the room. Dahmer pointed the gun warningly at Jack before turning back around. Shawn gave Gus a nudge and pinged an idea with a visual: The MRI table, blood on his fingers, a message.
Gus gave a barely perceptible nod as he watched Dahmer stalk back towards them. He needed to get Shawn to the table and buy him a few seconds. He just had to figure out how to do that without either of them getting shot.
Dahmer pointed his gun at Shawn as he snapped at Gus, "Up."
Gus climbed to his feet and nearly fell back to the ground when his shot leg tried to collapse again. He regained his balance and stood up as the beginnings of a plan started to form.
"Now, get him up." Dahmer flicked the gun to indicate Shawn. Gus limped around him, so he was standing next to Shawn's legs with his back to the MRI table. He made eye contact, hoping Shawn could read the plan in the look and wouldn't be caught off guard. He reached out his hands and Shawn took them with a broadcast: A safety vest, a Nike shoe.
Gus smirked slightly at the echo of his own words and started to pull Shawn to his feet, bracing with both legs and ignoring the pain. He waited until Shawn was mostly up before making his move, putting all of his weight on his bad leg and pulling Shawn forward at the same time. His leg crumpled under him, sending him painfully to the ground as Shawn caught himself on the MRI table, gasping and grabbing at his back.
"Get. Up." A voice cut through the pain flaring through his body and Gus tried to follow the command. But his leg was slow to respond, and he found himself being hauled up by his neck. He stood as soon as possible and was immediately shoved forward as Dahmer snarled behind him, "We don't have time for this!"
Gus' head pounded, his leg seared, his neck felt like one giant bruise, and it was becoming painfully mundane to be gasping for breath yet again. A rough cough shook Gus' chest and the shards of glass stabbed further into his throat, Shawn looked at him worriedly but pinged his success. Gus didn't dare react while they were being watched.
Dahmer dug into his coat pocket and brought out a pair of handcuffs, tossing them to Shawn. He gave them their orders, "Put the lab coat on -Rhianna doesn't need to see your mess- then put on the cuffs. The acquired can help you walk out. If either of you give me any trouble, I will not hesitate to leave a body behind. Understand?"
They both nodded and Shawn reached for the lab coat that was crumpled up on the table. He began pulling it on while making his feelings clear: Robin Hood being pelted by ears, "That's disgusting."
Gus gave him a small smile of encouragement and reached around to help him pull the coat over his bloody back. Shawn put his arm in the other sleeve and put the cuffs back on, his face blank. He reached out and Gus ducked under his hands, waiting for Shawn to nod that he was ready before he started walking.
Rhianna came back into the room and quickly went over to the printer, grabbing her scans and bringing them over to Jack.
"Stop," Dahmer commanded. Gus stopped and traded looks with Shawn as Dahmer walked past them with a large grin on his face. He grabbed the duct tape and Shawn sent a frustrated image: two rabbits mating.
Gus glared at him, glad that he'd at least found a non-graphic way of broadcasting 'Fuck.'
Dahmer quickly re-gagged both of them, smirking the whole time, before waving the tape in Jack's direction. "I'm assuming I don't need to keep you quiet too?"
Jack clenched his jaw and shook his head, his eyes flicking over to Shawn and Gus as they started moving again. His thoughts tinged in distress before he looked back down at the scans Rhianna was holding out.
Rhianna was chatting away, oblivious to everything but the science. "This was during the communication stage, and this was the actual vision. Look how different they are!"
"Yeah, I see," Jack intoned, sounding like a parent who was being shown their two-hundredth drawing of a stick-figure. He suddenly blinked and actually looked at the two pages, his thoughts writing faster.
"You see something, don't you?" Rhianna asked excitedly.
"I was just noticing that the parietal lobe is active in both sets, that's all," Jack said. Gus was impressed; if he hadn't been psychic, he wouldn't have caught the lie. He limped into the hallway, hoping the new guy stayed on their side.
Shawn gave him a mental nudge and nodded towards the wall. Gus looked and saw a small hole in the cinder block, just above head height. He suddenly realized what the loud bang had been and wondered if Rhianna had meant to fire a warning shot or if she'd just missed.
"Yes, the acquired's scans show even more activity-"
"Darling, we'll have to finish this in the car. Let's go."
Rhianna kept chatting, explaining about the scans and Dahmer's formula as they made their way back out into the dark parking lot. Gus tried to keep from listening to any of it; he'd heard more than enough science babble to last him a lifetime.
Every few steps, Dahmer would prod Gus in the back, trying to prompt him to limp faster with Shawn. Gus tried to ignore how close Dahmer's hand was to the belt hanging down his back, and how easy it would be for the bad guy to bring him back to his knees. Shawn's arm around his shoulders was a solid comfort and he tried to focus on that as they walked to their previous car.
Gus' leg was burning and he could feel rocks already embedding themselves into his feet by the time Dahmer had them stop. He dug around the car, grabbing his bag and random supplies, and Gus could see his silver pharmaceutical case in the back seat. He tried to distract himself for the next several yards of limping by thinking about beating Dahmer over the head with it. The imagination didn't feel as satisfying as it should have.
A soldier with a keen interest in birds, "It's not a question of where he grips it, it's a simple question of weight ratios! A five-ounce bird could not carry a one-pound coconut."
Gus raised an eyebrow and wondered -not for the first time- what exactly went on in his friend's head. Shawn answered with a mental smirk.
They approached a small pool of light from a nearby streetlamp that was illuminating the other car. The shadows cast by the light couldn't quite hide the boxy shape, the rust around the wheels, or the chipped paint. As far as Gus could tell, the only redeeming feature of the beat-up car was the seemingly large trunk.
"This is your car?" Dahmer grumbled in distaste.
"I support a family on a professor's salary, what do you expect?" Jack sniped back.
The beakers flared red and Gus winced, waiting for the sound of a slap or a punch. Dahmer didn't go after Jack though; instead, he shoved Shawn forward, making sure his hand hit right in the middle of cuts on Shawn's back. Shawn yelped and lost his balance, clinging to Gus' shoulder to keep from falling or using his broken leg. Gus stumbled forward and threw his hands out to catch himself on the back of the car, bracing himself so Shawn could regain his balance. Jack's taste of pancakes tinged with guilt and he stayed quiet.
Shawn let out some frustration at Dahmer in his broadcast: Tony Cox in a restaurant, "You're an emotional fucking cripple. Your soul is dog shit. Every single fucking thing about you is ugly."
Gus nodded in agreement before freezing as he felt a hand grab the belt off his back. Dahmer growled out, "Let go of him."
Shawn glared back before pinging an apology and lifting his cuffed hands up and over Gus' head, sending a broadcast in explanation: Dahmer with the belt in one hand and the gun still ready in the other.
Gus tried to give him a look to tell him he had nothing to apologize for, but the belt pulled tight and forced him back out of the light. Dahmer didn't waste any time; once Gus was less visible, he let go of the belt to snap his fingers and point at the ground. Gus clenched his jaw and did as he was told, lowering himself back to his knees and looking down. Dahmer giggled quickly and petted Gus' head. "Good boy."
Shawn's thoughts flared black, Gus frantically caught his eye and shook his head. He wasn't being hurt, the bad guy had a gun, and Shawn would be lucky to get a punch in before he was killed. Shawn's whole body tensed like a loaded spring, but he didn't move as Dahmer approached him again.
The pancake taste flared in disgust and Gus flinched away before realizing it was aimed at Dahmer and Rhianna, not at him. He shook his head slightly, feeling where the leather had already rubbed his neck raw; the belt was clearly fucking with his head, he needed it to come off.
The sound of the trunk opening drew his attention back to Shawn and he watched helplessly as his friend was dragged around and pushed unceremoniously into the compartment. Gus knew it would be faster for him to just stand up and walk over, but that wasn't what Dahmer wanted, so he stayed kneeling. Dahmer called out as he inspected the inside of the trunk lid, "Rhianna, go ahead and get your friend comfortable in the back seat."
Gus let out a small sigh of relief. He knew they wouldn't be able to fit three people in the trunk, but he hadn't put it past Dahmer to force him to be the one in the front of the car to keep him and Shawn separate. And wasn't that kind of fucked up, that he was hoping to be put in the trunk.
Dahmer seemed content with what he saw on the lid and he made his way back to Gus, picking up the belt and giving it a sharp jerk, "Time to go."
Gus struggled to his feet and stumbled to keep up as Dahmer started to walk without waiting on him, practically dragging him back to the trunk. Shawn had already scooted back as far as he could, and Gus could tell that there was slightly more room in this trunk than the last one.
Gus moved to start climbing in when the strap tightened, pulling him back until he was pressed up against Dahmer's shoulder. Dahmer grabbed the belt buckle and held him still as he ran his gun down the side of Gus' face, murmuring in his ear, "You think the cops will find you and there will be a rescue and a happily ever after. But you forget..." He pulled the buckle back and snarled, "You're not theirs, you're mine."
Gus craned his head back to keep breathing and tried to ignore the repulsive wrongness of being so close to the bad guy. Dahmer tapped his gun against the duct tape over Gus' mouth. "I want to hear you say it."
Gus shook his head; even wheezing for breath and hurting everywhere and knowing he was just seconds away from being brought to his knees… He wouldn't say that.
Dahmer pointed the gun at Shawn. Gus squeezed his eyes closed and hated himself as he said the words into his gag, proving that Dahmer was right.
Beakers cracked in glee, and he was shoved in the trunk, the lid slamming over them. He knew it was dark, he knew it was safe to open his eyes now. But he couldn't risk seeing Shawn's face.
They stayed closed.
Lassiter cursed as he hung up the phone, his eyes never leaving the road. "The building's cleared, they're gone."
"Damnit!" Henry exclaimed from the back.
Juliet ran her fingers over the grip of her gun. "We'll find another lead, we're getting closer. We'll find them."
They just had to hold on a little longer.