Chapter 29

Steve had already been tortured during his missions or encounters with Wo Fat, but it wasn't something to get used to. The drowning sensation he felt as the water poured over the towel made him jerk, tugging at his bonds with no hope of release, just in a useless survival reflex. His lungs began to burn as he did his best to keep the water out, but the need to breathe grew stronger and stronger.

He bent forward as much as he could as soon as the towel was removed from his face to spit out the water he'd sucked in and take several much-needed gulps of air. His past Navy Seal training enabled him to catch his breath quickly and try to gather his thoughts.

"You won't break me," he declared, hoping that Wo Fat would decide to ask him some questions.

Steve knew he hadn't just stated an absolute truth, with the right levers he'd be ready for anything, but none of those levers involved torturing him.

"The human mechanism is in motion, you'll tell me what I want to know.¨

¨What the..."

He didn't have time to finish his sentence, his head was pulled back again and the towel placed on his head. The water came at once, making his lungs burn again, he could see death coming, he forbade himself to think of Charlie and hoped to be soon delivered from this nightmare.

"Where's my dad?"

The former 5-0 chief thought to himself that this was the end of him. He'd stopped himself from delving into all these riddles since he'd left Hawaii to protect Charlie and him, he had no idea what could have happened to this man.

"I don't know.¨

¨You expect me to believe that?¨

¨No, but it's the truth."

The answer didn't please Wo Fat, who nodded to his partner. Steve barely had time to catch his breath before his head was pulled back again and water poured over his face through the towel. The burning in his lungs and throat was becoming more and more painful, his stamina drained a little more each time, and he needed more and more time to get his breath back.

"It'll stop, as soon as you tell me what I want."

Steve couldn't see any way out of this situation; he was going to die of pain or drown if Wo Fat didn't accept the idea that he didn't have the answers he wanted.

"If you're going to kill me, just do it," he said after spitting the water out of his lungs again and catching his breath.

¨Steve, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it a long time ago. Think about it."

This reassured Steve that he might be able to get out of this, but at the same time, he had no idea what Wo Fat wanted. He didn't have time to ask before the torture resumed; however knowing that his torturer wasn't trying to kill him, didn't stop the pain and fear making their way through him.

"Okay. You want to know where your father is? Ask Doris," he managed to articulate between breaths. ¨I know she visited you in prison. You should have asked her when you had the chance.¨

¨I asked our mother," Wo Fat replied. She said she didn't know."

The words 'our mother' swirled around in Steve's head; he couldn't understand how Doris could be their mother.

"What did you just say? Did you just say 'our mother'? What do you mean by 'our'?"

His reaction didn't please Wo Fat, who grabbed an electric baton and swung it. Steve arched his back, tipping his head back, and grunted in pain until the burning stopped. He let his head fall forward as he tried to recover from the intense pain he'd just endured.

"My father. Where is he?"

Steve had to gather his strength to answer.

"I already told you I don't know."

He didn't have time to anticipate the pain that coursed through his body again. There was nothing he could do but take it and endure it, scream in pain and pray it would stop.

"The Navy trained you well.¨

¨I can't tell you something I don't know," he gasped when the pain stopped.

¨I'm sure you can find the information.¨

¨I'll do that, I'll kill you and then I'll find your father and kill him too," Steve raged.

¨Then you'll have to kill your mother too.¨

¨Why would I do that?¨

¨Our mother is more than responsible for the person I am today.¨

¨Stop..."

He couldn't finish his sentence, cut off by the electric burn that once again swept through his body, making him suffer in agony. The current quickly flowed away from him, but he remained prostrate for a moment as the pain continued to shake his body. When he lifted his head, breathless, he saw that Wo Fat was sitting on an overturned bucket, facing him.

"You don't know anything about the real Doris McGarrett, do you?''

¨I know," he gasped, "that she was assigned to kill your father.¨

¨Yes, but she killed my mother instead and she never forgave herself for killing an innocent woman who had just become a mother. Grief and remorse drove her to do something remarkable. She took in the child and raised him as her own for several years. Until her superiors found out and forced her..."

Steve now understood the link between Doris and Wo Fat, and reflected that this assassin had indeed been at a good school with his mother given the reaction she'd had upon meeting Charlie.

"They forced her to give up the child.¨

¨That was you.¨

¨You see, Doris McGarrett is my mother too. If she knew where to find my father, she would have told me. But I'm sure with your resources you can find out where your government is holding him.¨

¨I can't, I left the States a year and a half ago. I no longer have any ties with my government.¨

¨That may be true, but I need convincing."

A knock on the door drew Wo Fat's attention, and he handed the hose to the woman and left the room.

Steve saw a way out, waited for her to approach him from behind and, when she put her hand on the back of his neck to bend him over, threw all his weight behind him. One of the armrests of the old wooden chair to which he was attached broke and he was able to untie one of his legs before she regained consciousness. He propped himself up on his freed foot and pivoted to hit her with the chair, sending her into the wall and giving him the time he needed to finish untying himself. She returned to the charge, but the soldier in him was ready, he countered her attack and brought her to the ground with him. He grabbed the towel at his feet to strangle her, but intense pain seized his gut and he released his grip.

"Well, I guess we'll have to punish you for that incursion, Steve," declared Wo Fat, forcing him onto his knees. ¨Ian."

The pain took hold of the Hawaiian, who couldn't understand what was causing it; the intensity was such that he wanted to curl up in a ball, but he was unable to. He was also unable to think, but when his pain subsided, a terrible idea made its way into his foggy brain. The memory of the pain he'd felt when Charlie had been wounded. He lifted his head and met the satisfied gaze of the young woman, who had an evil smile on her lips. She walked over to the screen on the shelves and switched it on, and the image on the screen hurt Steve more than any pain he'd felt before. Charlie was in a room similar to his own, except that he was chained to the wall with his arms over his head. He was shirtless, showed no signs of torture, but looked exhausted.

"I'm going to kill you!" screamed Steve.

Wo Fat had just brought one of the few levers that could work on him back into his personal hell, except that he didn't know the information he was asking for.

"Ian." echoed his torturer's voice in his ear.

"Crucio!" came in a cruel voice through the screen's speakers.

Charlie screamed out in pain as he convulsed and twisted in all directions, the pain resonating through Steve's body, but his heart bled far more from seeing and hearing what his soulmate was suffering through his fault.

"I swear, I don't know where your father is," gasped Steve.

¨I believe you," Wo Fat replied.

Steve hoped he'd stop torturing Charlie, stop torturing them both, but his hopes were dashed.

"Ian, it's time to play darts."