Carter chuckled from the corner. "He has a mouth on him." then he turned, reaching for something on the workbench.
Mitch chuckled darkly. "yeah he does" He crouched down in front of Danny again, his tone turning cold. "Let's see how long it lasts."
Carter stepped forward, now handing Mitch a pair of pliers. "How about you work on fixing that attitude of his, the last lesson didn't seem to take. He still has no respect for us" Carter added.
Danny's stomach dropped, but he forced himself to keep his expression neutral. The mechanic twirled the pliers in his hand, his eyes gleaming with malice.
Mitch grabbed a chair and dragged it noisily across the floor, sitting down directly in front of Danny.
At the same time, Carter dragged Steve up from the floor setting him upright in full view of what was about to happen.
Also within view was Henderson, looking more and more nervous as events unfolded.
"What are you going to do to them?" Henderson's trembling voice suddenly cut through the tension. Clearly, he no longer had the stomach for what was happening. "You said we'd just ask them a few questions" he added with a quivering voice.
"Yeah and we are going to get the answers we need" Carter answered him curtly. He clearly had no qualms with following along with Mitch's sadistic lead. Seeing he was outnumbered Henderson shrunk back into the corner.
"What the hell are you doing?" Danny hissed out, trying to jerk his hand out of the other man's grip but his tied up wrist made it impossible to get away
"Last chance. Tell me what Five-0 really knows, or I'll start with your pinky finger"
Danny tensed all his muscles when he felt the cold metal tightening around his finger but he knew that there was absolutely no way to escape Mitch's little game.
Danny groaned as the pain from his abused finger slowly became unbearable. His whole body was rigid and his muscles were trembling from the effort to stay calm but his breathing came in short, pained gasped and he felt a cold sweat popping up on his forehead.
Gritting his teeth he tried desperately to swallow down the pained moan that built in his chest but he was only half successful. Silently begging for an idea that helped him out of his current situation, Danny stared defiantly at the other man; from the corner of his eye he saw Steve nervously fidgeting in his chair.
His breath hitched, his mind flashing back to Grace's lifeless body in that dingy warehouse in Jersey. The pain of losing her mingled with his current fear, but he pushed it down, locking it away. He couldn't let Steve see him falter.
Danny leaned forward, a grim smile on his face. "Go ahead." He challenged.
He thought he was prepared. He wasn't prepared.
The cold metal clamped down.
Danny heard the sickening crunch and popping sound of his joint half a millisecond before the white-hot pain spread from his hand up his arm and struck his brain with the force of lightning. His breath caught in his throat and all the blood drained from his face in the blink of an eye. The rushing in his ears drowned out every other sound and all he perceived was an all-consuming agony that flashed through his whole body until it very slowly settled down in his left hand.
The sound that escaped his lips was primitive and intense. He turned his head to the right and buried his face in his shoulder to ride out the waves of pain, drawing the air in hard, chopped gasps.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried his best to override his brains natural response. He clamped down stifling his cry to a mere whimper.
Mitch watched with glee, satisfied with the power he felt over the loud mouthed Detective.
Danny didn't know how much time had passed when he was finally able to raise his head and open his eyes. His face contorted with pain, Danny looked straight at the man who was still sitting in front of him.
"If you touch me again, I swear to God I'll kill you," Danny hissed, trying with all his might to keep his voice steady as he protectively curled his left hand into a fist as far as his broken finger allowed. "I'll kill you with my bare hands."
Danny continued to stare him down anger flaring in his eyes.
Like an indiscriminate wild fire, the anger now caught in Mitch's eyes and blazed fiercely. The satisfied grin on his face morphed into one contorted by anger.
"You," he spat through gritted teeth "De-tec-tive" he really drew it out as he inched in closer like a predator stalking his prey.
For Mitch, there was nothing else in the room now. He completely ignored Steve's protests, who feared what was coming, the same as Carter's accolades, who eagerly anticipated it.
"Are forgetting" Mitch continued, "that you are not the one in charge" he emphasized the point by brushing the pliers against Danny's abused digit. Eliciting a sharp intake of air and moan that briefly satisfied Mitch's perverse hunger. "Now, ask nicely and I'll consider it" he concluded.
The pain from the slight brush of his finger had been more than Danny had anticipated. He hung his head a moment, panting slightly to regain his wits. "Please..." he started his voice quivering. "Please" he restarted, voice coming off a bit stronger now.
Mitch's satisfied grin grew wider until Danny raised his head and locked eyes with Mitch. Defiance blazed and Mitch's confidence faltered. "Please don't touch the middle finger" he smiled at Mitch now "your wife so loves when I tickle her with that one"
"No" Steve yelled now terrified for what retribution his friend would face. But it was to no avail, Mitch completely ignored him.
With barely contained anger he slowly closed his fingers around Danny's hand, causing the blond detective to breathe out an almost inaudible whimper.
Mitch shifted a little bit forward in his chair to additionally invade Danny's personal space. Forcefully he started to open Danny's clenched fist.
Seeing the other man drawing near and feeling the dirty fingers on his already hurting hand Danny totally acted on instinct and self-preservation when he rocked his upper body forward as much as possible, slamming his head forcefully into the other man's face.
Danny allowed himself a smug little smile when he heard the satisfying crunch of breaking bones and cartilage. Joyfully, he watched how Mitch fell backwards, clutching his bleeding nose. Mitch toppled along with his chair into the nearby workbench.
The cacophony of noise from the spilled contents of the bench was followed by a stunned silence that enveloped the room.
Danny's head-butt had been a desperate, unscripted maneuver, and it left Mitch reeling. It was a brief respite, a glimmer of hope in their dire situation, but it was short-lived.
Blood gushed from Mitch's broken nose, and he groaned, his eyes filled with rage as he wiped blood from his face.
Throwing Danny a look of hatred, he struggled to his feet. Pulling out his concealed pistol as he stood. He raised it and pressed it against Danny's thigh
"You're gonna wish you hadn't done that" Mitch spat out, his voice laced with rage.
Before Danny could react or plead, a gunshot ripped through the warehouse.
The bullet tore through Danny's thigh. His cry of torment filled the room as his body spasmed. He slumped in the chair, his vision blurring as a disorienting, swirling storm of pain consumed him. Danny's chest heaved with every labored breath.
As he gasped for breath, his vision blurred between sharp waves of pain. Blood pulsed from the wound, staining his pants a dark, sinister crimson. Thick droplets fell from the chair, forming a morbid rhythm as they splattered onto the cold, unforgiving concrete floor, merging with the shadowy puddle forming on there.
Steve's eyes widened in horror as he watched his partner suffer, his voice filled with concern "Danny!"
"Danny!" He screamed again as he bucked against his binds while Mitch looked on with satisfaction.
The pain in his leg remained a constant torment, but he refused to give his captors the satisfaction of seeing him broken. Danny became aware of his partner's desperate plea for some kind of response.
"I'm here, I'm okay" he slurred in a desperate attempt to relieve some of his partner's anxiety.
Steve's eyes darted from Danny to Mitch and finally landed on Henderson, squirming in the background.
"You need to stop this," Steve pleaded, his voice strained but steady. "You know this isn't right. Look at him." He nodded toward Danny, who was slumped forward, breathing heavily, his leg bleeding freely onto the dusty floor. "He needs a hospital. You were a cop—HPD, You swore to protect people, not... this."
Henderson shifted uneasily, his eyes darting between Mitch and Steve. "I—I didn't sign up for this. This isn't..."
"Enough," Mitch barked one hand still clutched to his nose. Stepping closer to Steve, he trained the barrel of his gun on him. "Henderson doesn't need your speeches, McGarrett. He's here because he knows where his bread is buttered. Right, Henderson?"
Henderson swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. "I... I just..."
"Henderson!" Mitch snapped, his voice sharp as a whip. "If you're thinking of growing a conscience, let me remind you how that worked out for the last guy who crossed me."
Steve's jaw clenched, but he kept his gaze fixed on Henderson, "This isn't you, Henderson," he pressed, his tone softer now, almost imploring. "You're not like them. You're better than this. Walk away now, help us, and I promise, I'll do everything I can to help you. But if you stay..." He glanced at Mitch, then back at Henderson. "You know how this ends."
Henderson looked at Danny, his expression conflicted. Danny, despite the pain, managed a weak smirk. "Don't let this guy scare you, Henderson," he rasped. "He's all bark, no bite. Just... a small man compensating with a big gun."
Mitch's face twisted in fury, and he aimed the gun at Danny. "Keep talking, and I'll shut you up for good."
Steve immediately tensed. "You're going to kill him anyway, right? That's the plan?" he challenged, his voice rising. "Because if that's true, Henderson, what's stopping him from doing the same to you when you're no longer useful?"
"Shut up!" Mitch shouted, but Henderson's resolve was visibly wavering.
"I didn't... I didn't know it would go this far," Henderson murmured, taking a hesitant step forward. His eyes imploring for Steve to understand and not hold him accountable
"Then end it," Steve urged. "You still can."
But before Henderson could make a move, Mitch grabbed him by the front of his shirt and yanked him close. "You even think about stepping out of line, and I'll put you down myself. Got it?"
Henderson nodded stiffly, fear etched into his features.
Mitch shoved him back. "Now, keep an eye on the door and don't get any ideas!"
Henderson hesitated, his gaze flitting to Steve and Danny. Then, reluctantly, he moved to stand by the door, his shoulders slumped.
Steve exchanged a quick glance with Danny, who gave a barely perceptible nod. The seed of doubt was planted in Henderson's mind. Now, they just had to survive long enough for it to grow.
Mitch then turned to his partner "Carter, go prepare everything for the Commander here. I don't think that the Detective will be of use to us much longer" Mitch said muffled, one hand still pressed to his bleeding nose. "We need to move this along in a different way"
Out of the corner of his eye Danny watched Carter nod obediently and move off towards a back office. Mitch then stepped into his line of sight. Danny instinctively pulled away when he saw the expression of pure rage in the other man's bloodied face.
He took in Danny's condition with malicious glee. Then, seemingly satisfied, he turned and followed Carter to the office.
Supposedly to take care of his bleeding nose.
To Be Continued
I really look forward to coming and finding new reviews on my story so please review, it also motivates me to post faster.. wink wink