A slow smile spread across Eliot's face. He had been aching to do this since day one; it was a shame it was only two of them. "You sure you want to do this, boys? 'Cause, I'm pretty sure even my secretary can take you."
The two men circled him cautious about their approach. They weren't supposed to seriously hurt him. If they had been facing Lindsey McDonald they would have brought more men. Hell, they would have brought tranq darts and called it a day. Despite his reputation, they just weren't afraid of Eliot Spencer.
"Your secretary is scarier than you."
"I don't know which of us should be more insulted, Miss Chapel," He said keeping an eye on both men. "Well come on," Eliot said, shedding the façade of the lawyer completely. He shifted into a deceptively relaxed stance.
The guards moved in flanking Eliot, one received a fist to the nose for his trouble, and the other, the one on Eliot's weak side, found that he didn't need hands to defend himself when there were feet available.
Hardwick watched from the sidelines, taking in Eliot's fighting style, watching for weaknesses to exploit. They were going to have to take him to the floor to get the upper hand and even that might not be as easy as it seemed.
Eliot had been on his best behavior since his abduction. Not because he couldn't get away, but because of the threat over Amie's head, but that wasn't his first priority any longer. His first priority was the negotiation and Rasa's safety, so as far as he was concerned all bets were off.
His arm throbbed with his heartbeat, and he could feel the heat of it as he held it against his abdomen to protect it during the fight. He used every dirty trick in the book to keep the upper hand against men who were as well-trained as he was.
Hardwick gave a nod and one of his men went down with Spencer's blow, then twisted his legs around Eliot's and brought him to the ground. Even with one wounded arm, Hardwick had to join in the struggle before they could finally subdue the man.
"Are you sure it's safe?" the doctor asked as he filled the syringe.
"I'm not. What is that?" Tara asked.
"Oh just a sedative so we can have a look at that arm without him breaking ours," The man said; but there was something in his smile that was less than reassuring. If Vincent Price and Boris Karloff had ever produced a love child, it was standing before her, with a needle intended for her friend. This was beyond not good.
"You might want to get over here and do this, Doc," Hardwick said.
"You people, always in a hurry," He said, tsking as he tapped the syringe and emptied it of air bubbles. He was hoping to find a vein. It went so much faster that way. "I like to linger over my work."
Tara's eyes grew large at that and Eliot very nearly threw off the three men holding him down.
"You. you can't take too long, Mr. McDonald has to have time to prepare for the negotiations tomorrow," Tara said. "He... he can't be lingered over or Ms. Morgan will be very put out and. quite honestly she scares me more than any of the rest of you combined."
The doctor sighed and emptied a good portion of what was in the syringe. He walked over to Eliot and knelt on the floor. "Turn his head, please. No no, the other way, the vein is visible on this side."
Eliot struggled but ultimately wasn't able to move much at all. "I'm going to kill you," He promised and growled when the needle went into his flesh. Within seconds he stopped struggling. It took concentration and extreme effort to force his eyes open or turn his head.
The doctor stood up, waited a moment then sighed. "You can get up now. He isn't going anywhere under his own power. I am impressed that he is still aware though. It must be a side effect of the venom."
"What would have happened if you had given all of it to him?" She asked, horrified.
"Oh, nothing much. He would have been in a coma for several hours, maybe a day or two at most, depending on his system. This is more like twilight sleep. I have no idea how long that will last," He told her gently. "But he will be fine. Back to growling and yelling like the rest of them in no time. I think." He turned his attention back to the security forces. "Now let's get him to the infirmary and see what we can do to counteract that venom."
Tara stared on in horror as they carried the very limp Eliot from the room.
Hardwick paused to look back at her. "Don't worry about him. Like you said Lilah has plans."
"I'm not so much worried as... well... creeped out by the doctor," She said the last very quietly and conspiratorially, in Hardwick's ear.
"I get that," He said. "I'll talk to you later. You might as well go ahead and take lunch. Who's gonna know."
"Too much more excitement and it'll be a liquid lunch," She said stepping out of the office with him and watching as they disappeared into an elevator with Eliot. She had never seen anyone beat him before. Angel didn't count; neither of them had been trying. That bite was affecting Eliot more than he was willing to say.
Lunch was a good idea after all, she thought as she grabbed her purse and jacket and headed out of the building. She was twenty minutes away, sitting on a public bus, when she took out her phone and called the Hyperion.
"You do realize I sleep during the day," Angel said with a slight teasing tone.
"You didn't tell me they bite," She said running a hand through her long blonde hair.
"What are you talking about?" He asked, genuinely confused, but getting out of his bed nonetheless.
Tara could hear the doors open and close as he made his way to the research library. "The Niemic bit him. She bit Eliot on the arm and it's... I've never seen anything like it. "
"She bit him?" Angel repeated taking down a book and leafing through the pages, not finding what he was looking for. "How was he afterward? Other than pissed."
"I don't know. Different but not really. More like he dropped the character. But that might just be because they were trying to drag him off to the infirmary. My God these people are freaking insane." She was not her usual calm self. She was angry, and she felt horrible for leaving Eliot where he was to face what she was certain was a mad scientist.
"That's why I want you out of there," Angel said. He'd pull her out now if he thought she would listen. As it was it would just turn into a fight and she would stay there anyway. "I'm not seeing anything in the information I have about biting. She bit him?" He had never been bitten.
"Yes she bit him and then Lilah sent in the goon squad to pin him down so that the escapee from a mad scientist movie could drug him and take him down to the infirmary. And I just stood there and let them."
"Tara, you didn't have a choice," Angel told her. "You can't protect him in there. You can help him but you can't protect him."
"I've got to figure out a way to do both or they are going to kill him."
"I know," He said. "Let me ask around and see what I can find out about Neimic bites. I'll see you tonight when you get home. Be careful."
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Eliot's head landed back on the pillow with a thud. A strap crossed his chest and his legs holding him to the examination table. They had told him it was just to keep him from falling off the damned thing. He had a feeling that would change when he was able to move again.
They had drawn blood and taken samples that made Eliot blush and there hadn't been anything he could do about it. Then they started poking and prodding the bite mark. They meticulously cleaned the wound, debriding it really, scraping the inside of the puncture wounds to remove the flesh that had come into contact with teeth and venom.
"You'll thank me for this later," The doctor told him as he worked slowly and carefully. "If you are lucky I will have gotten it all. It's a nasty thing, Neimic Venom. Sadly there is as yet no antivenin, but perhaps you can help us with that. Well. if I succeed. "
"God I want to kill you," Eliot said even though it took a supreme effort to do that much.
"Most of my patients do. They just don't understand the merit of my work and can only really compare it to the pain they experience. I understand it and don't take offense, but it is truly unfortunate."
All Eliot could do was glare at the man as he worked. The least the man could do was shut up. He had been tortured before, but never had they gotten all conversational on him. He expected the man to start asking about his hobbies and had he ever tried birdwatching.
"Alright, we are going to rinse this out. It might sting a bit," The doctor said as he prepared the solution. "You know, usually my patients are unconscious while I do this sort of work."
"If you go all Princess Bride on me, I swear I will kick your ass when I get off this table."
"You're a very violent person, aren't you Mr. Spencer." He chuckled at the look on Eliot's face. "Well, she couldn't very well send you in here as Mr. McDonald. For one the two of you do not have the same blood type and that would be fatal when we get around to scrubbing and/or replacing your blood."
"What .?"
"Don't worry. Mr. McDonald went through this procedure as well. He came through it with flying colors. It will be a little disconcerting when your heart stops beating but trust me, everything will be alright," He said then paused. "One way or the other."
Dr. Vincent finished cleansing the wounds and then bandaged them. "There now, that's all taken care of," He told him as he stood up. "Now I know Miss Chapel has a good point that you need to be functional at some point today, but I do believe that it will be a kindness for me to put you under briefly."
"No," Eliot said, not trusting the man. He couldn't move, could barely speak even though his mind was racing.
"Shhh, just relax. Leave everything to me and we'll have you back behind your desk in time for dinner," He said as he pressed the mask over Eliot's face.
Eliot groaned as the world first went a sort of static gray, then faded to black just before he slipped into oblivion.
Even before the world came back into focus there was the sound. It was the sound of a machine spinning and whirring. It beeped occasionally. He was breathing. That was a good sign. Nothing throbbed. His arm still hurt, but it didn't throb.
He tried to move and discovered that if he weren't strapped down tightly to the table now, he would indeed be able to do so. His eyes opened just a little. Eliot wasn't ready to let them know he was awake yet.
His legs hurt, again no throbbing and he surreptitiously lifted his head to look at his lower half. He could see the tubes running across his legs. One a deep rich red, the other more vibrant. The tubes were going into his legs. femoral vein and artery.
"Ah you decided to join us, Mr. Spencer," He said. "Oh, and it seems the medication has worn off as well. Although I cannot say I am surprised. We are scrubbing your blood of all those nasty impurities. I must compliment you though. You have remarkably good cholesterol. "
"You're insane," He said. Eliot struggled against the straps holding him down, but they held fast. Then he stopped, his eyes wide, almost wild. "What have you done to me?" He asked, "Why isn't my heart beating?"
"Oh, that's nothing to worry about. We stopped it, but as I said don't worry, all those functions the heart and lung provide are all being taken care of by the bypass machine. You'll be fine. Just another couple of hours and we can disconnect you. A few tests after that and you will be ready to go back to work. There will still be some residual effects from the venom, but if you are lucky they will be transitory."
"Are you saying that all this might be for nothing?" Eliot growled.
"It is entirely possible yes," The doctor told him with a somber expression.
"Anyone ever tell you, you have a lousy bedside manner?"
"Really? Hmmm. I've been working so hard to be friendlier." Dr. Vincent looked perplexed.
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Parker watched the scene from above. There had been something in Eliot's tone the night before that had told her something was wrong. Seriously wrong. She had known a little about Wolfram and Hart. She had scouted out the building before, but that had been the old building. The one that had sort of imploded. She knew they were evil. Just not how evil until now.
"I knew better than to believe you," She said softly. "I knew they were hurting you." Parker's pale eyes narrowed. They were going to pay for this. She just had to figure out how.