FIC: In a Mirror, Darkly: Chapter 20/?
Title: In a Mirror, Darkly: Chapter 20
Author: Valerie Vancollie (valeriev84 [at] hotmail.com)
Characters: Don, Charlie, Alan, David, Colby, Nikki, (surprise)
Rating: 15
Summary: There was a certain irony to the situation, that the brother who was a federal agent had been abducted to be used as leverage against the brother who was an applied mathematics professor at a highly respected college. Don Whump, Charlie Angst!
Betas: aleo_70 & fredbassett
Spoilers: Uncertainty Principle, Vector, Man Hunt, Protest, Dark Matter, Spree, Two Daughters, Brutus, Finders Keepers, One Hour, The Janus List, Breaking Point, Black Swan, When Worlds Collide, The Decoy Effect, Jack of All Trades, Arrow of Time, The Fifth Man, Greatest Hits, Angels and Devils
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Numb3rs characters, items or situations. I only lay claim to the original aspects of the fic.
Part V: Don: Basement
Chapter 20:
Tuesday, 18:16
Basement, Unknown Location
Once he'd finished the first slice and started the second, Don decided he'd given the other man enough time.
"This information Blakely and Keane are after, is it something that would be more valuable if the government believed it hadn't gotten out into the open?" Don asked, knowing better than to question the man about what they were stealing.
Despite all else, Banner was still a traitor to the United States government, willing to betray the NSA and his oath for money. Just because his life may now be in jeopardy as a result of his decision to accept Blakely's offer didn't mean he'd feel any more righteous or different towards Don himself. That part of the situation hadn't changed in the slightest, though perhaps his torture had shown the agent that things weren't quite what he'd believed they'd be. No, what had altered and which would matter to him, was that his own life was now at stake. That was the weak link here and Don wouldn't waste time chasing after shadows and trying to induce guilt where there was precious little to begin with.
The lack of a verbal response told Don all he needed to know, even though Banner's facial expression confirmed it. The sound of a door opening distracted him briefly and his eyes darted towards the open door out of the basement. Keane was clearly coming down to join them as Banner had said he would. He only had a minute left to make his point.
"Look, you know Blakely and Keane are willing to kill in order to see this job done properly," Don hissed urgently, desperate. "Why would you and Frazer be any different? Besides, it means cutting the money fewer ways, so it makes sense financially as well as tactically."
That said, Don took another bite of bread and turned his attention towards Keane as he walked into the room.
"Still eating?" Keane inquired.
"I untied the knots manually," Banner informed him.
Don's eyes darted briefly to the agent, weighing whether he had left out any mention of his reaction to the knife in light of their conversation or simply because he figured Keane would be able to put two and two together. When he turned his attention back to Keane, he was once more treated to an expression laced with regret, though this time it was more visible than before as Keane studied him closely. Those eyes missed nothing as they looked him over and Don wondered what was going through the man's mind.
Keane was a bit of a mystery to him. On the one hand, the man was clearly willing and able to kill in order to achieve his ends, not to mention using unsavory methods if he felt that was what the job called for. Yet, on the other hand, he seemed to also prefer not utilizing those methods if at all avoidable. Well, at least in his own mind. He'd once obviously believed enough in the government to join the military and potentially lay down his life to defend the US. Somewhere along the line something had changed, though he strongly suspected that Keane didn't view it as such a big change, but rather a small adjustment to how he'd always been.
The man still seemed to have his own code of honor, twisted though it may have become. Don just wished he understood it better so he could try and use it to his advantage.
"Then you'd better start on the others while he finishes his dinner," Keane stated, drawing his Beretta to cover Don.
"So, do I get the night off or will Frazer be back to 'play' some more?" Don demanded as he finished his meal, heavily stressing the last verb.
"You need not worry about him tonight."
Which meant Frazer might be back in the morning. Don shoved the thought aside, relieved he'd be left alone for a good few hours. It would give his body some time to start healing and for him to collect his composure and get over the shock of what had been done to him. Nothing could possibly prepare him for another round, or more, with Frazer, but at least he was being given some time to recover before the fugitive was allowed to work on him some more. He would take anything he could get.
"There," Banner finally said, once he'd snapped the cuffs in place.
Don slowly flexed his arms before stretching his cramped legs, wincing all the while. The movement caused his sore and abused muscles to scream in protest in addition to stretching the torn skin of his arms. There was the very serious possibility that getting up and moving around would reopen some of the cuts, but he really did need to use the bathroom and he could do with some more water as well.
Though Keane seemed willing to let him take his time, Don didn't want to press his luck and cautiously pushed himself to his feet. Pain shot through him from so many different sources that it all seemed to blend into one massive hurt with the wound being his entire body. It really did feel like one open injury right now. One open and sore wound.
When the worst of it had passed, Don opened eyes he hadn't been aware of closing and took a cautious step forwards. He saw a flash of emotion cross Banner's face, but it was gone too quickly for him to identify what it was. Unable to say anything to the NSA agent in front of Keane, he concentrated instead on making his way to the bathroom. It took far too long before he was standing before the sink, clumsily washing his right hand, his left one all but useless. That done, he finally lifted his head and looked into the mirror, something he'd avoided until then.
He hardly recognized the man staring back at him from the dirty glass. He'd been correct in guessing that his face was a mask of blood. The thick liquid obscured many of the cuts and partially disguised the extent of the damage even as it enhanced the wounds that were visible. Don winced as his eyes found the cut that had come so close to taking out his right eye. He shuddered at the memory and forced his eyes away, further down his body. The skin around his ribs that first Keane had kicked and then Frazer had aggravated was starting to bruise spectacularly despite the blood that coated much of the area.
The first impulse that surfaced was the desire to wash the blood off, to clean himself up, but he squashed it. Though it would provide some mental relief, the physical consequences of doing so weren't worth it in the slightest. First off, he didn't have so much as a shirt to use to dry himself off after he'd gotten the blood off, so he'd freeze and potentially catch a cold. Second, washing the dried blood off was likely to reopen at least some of the cuts and he had nothing with which to stem the flow, so he'd merely be exacerbating the problem. And finally, cleaning himself was not only likely to anger Frazer, but to be taken as a challenge. It was quite possible it would make the fugitive assault him again that much sooner.
Decision reluctantly made, Don leaned forwards and drank directly from the tap until he'd quenched as much of his thirst as he dared. He then slowly made his way back to his chair, noticing that Lawson had returned to his desk in his absence. The boy paled alarmingly as he glanced at him and Don had to force himself not to give him a reassuring look, not wanting to give away how close they'd gotten. Well, that and he sincerely doubted he could pull off reassuring having just seen his own reflection.
"Wait," Keane said before he could seat himself once more. "Put this on."
With his slowed reflexes, Don was only just able to catch the navy blue shirt thrown at him. He looked at it for a second before glancing back at Keane. What was the point? Frazer was probably just going to rip or cut it off of him first chance he got.
"I'm going to take another photo for your brother," Keane stated simply as Banner undid the cuffs, knowing more wouldn't be necessary.
Don's hands clenched on the shirt and he closed his eyes for a moment before he slowly started putting the shirt on. Much as he'd love to resist, to make a move or go for either Keane or Banner, he knew he'd never succeed and would only get shot for his efforts. Something which he really couldn't afford at present as he was already far too weak for his liking. He knew that if he didn't make a move soon, he'd no longer be capable of doing so, but he still desperately hoped for an opportunity slightly better than suicidal. Instead he silently cursed himself for not having thought that Keane would use the opportunity to take a photo. If he'd thought of it, he'd probably have washed himself in order to save Charlie from having to see him like this.
His cuts stung and Don felt some of them break open once more as he raised his arms painfully to get the shirt on over his head, but that didn't deter him in the slightest, nor did the screaming of his ribs, though the fact that he was able to raise his arms at all gave him hope that they were merely cracked and not broken. The less Charlie had to see, the better and he was sure his team would realize the significance of his suddenly wearing a new shirt even if his brother didn't.
/
Wednesday, 14:22
Basement, Unknown Location
It was funny how malleable time could appear to be given the right circumstances, Don mused as he stared at the clock which seemed to be running even slower than before. Now that he wasn't being drugged the whole time, he found that he was bored out of his mind. He'd long since analyzed and reanalyzed all that he knew about what was going on as well as his conversation with Banner. Now there was absolutely nothing he could do but wait to see if he'd managed to get through to the NSA agent. He'd also gone over a dozen different escape scenarios, but each and every one of them were all but suicidal given that one of the two men monitoring him when he was allowed out of the chair always had a gun aimed at him. What he needed was a way to alter the status quo but he kept coming up empty.
As he closed his eyes in frustration, Don resisted the urge to tug at his restraints once more. He'd already tested the strength of the knots earlier and found them to be expertly tied. Any attempt on his part to loosen them would only result in aggravating his already chaffed wrists and causing him to loose even more blood. Not to mention the agony it would ignite in his left hand by moving the broken bones. He just hated sitting here, doing nothing as time slowly ticked away on his life. Where the hell was his team? Why hadn't Charlie told them of what was going on? Surely he had to know how much better the odds were of successfully recovering a kidnap victim if the Bureau was involved right from the start.
Come on, Charlie!
The sound of someone on the stairs distracted Don from his dark thoughts towards his brother and drew his fearful attention towards the door. True to his word, Keane had prevented Frazer from bothering him during the night, but that was now past and he kept expecting the fugitive to return for round three, or four if you considered the original attack at CalSci. Regardless, it was far too many and he honestly wasn't sure how much more torture he could take. Already the mere thought of Frazer's presence filled him with horror and dread, causing his heart rate to soar and sweat to break out on his skin.
Relief like that which he'd seldom known swept through him as the door opened to reveal Lawson. It didn't last very long for he caught the wild and desperate look in the boy's eyes and knew something was terribly wrong.
"What happened?" Don demanded.
"Banner," Lawson replied shakily. "He... Keane... oh God!"
"Banner? Keane? What is it?"
"Banner, he, he tried to get out last night."
"Out of here?" Don questioned with a sinking heart.
He had a sneaking suspicion that he knew exactly what had happened, though he desperately hoped that he was wrong. If it he wasn't, then the gamble he'd taken had failed and there were bound to be serious consequences for him. Damn Banner!
"Yeah, he wanted out of this... this whole thing," Lawson gestured at the desk helplessly. "Said something about not being stupid and all."
"I see. I assume he was caught?"
"Frazer."
The sheer amount of emotions Lawson managed to put into the name showed just how deeply witnessing the torture had affected him. Don swallowed as the reminder threatened to release the dam he'd forced around his own emotions. It looked like Banner had given some serious thought to what he'd said, mulled it over and then decided that he was right. Only, instead of getting angry enough at Keane and Blakely to attempt to sabotage their plans by releasing himself and Lawson, the man had chosen to try and run, to save his own skin.
Was it simply a matter of coincidence that Frazer had caught him trying to sneak out or had Keane gotten the man to watch Banner? Or perhaps it was simply Frazer's hate of authorities of all stripes that had caused him to keep a close eye on the other man.
"Did he kill him?"
"N- no," Lawson replied, shaking his head frantically. "He brought him back to Keane."
Don had to admit to being impressed with Frazer's restraint there, he'd have thought the man would have used the opportunity to simply kill Banner and then try to explain it away to Keane afterwards. Could he really have that much more control when dealing with someone he didn't hate so much? Unfortunately for him, Banner being taken alive meant that Keane might learn exactly who had planted the seeds of the whole idea in his head.
"Where is he now?"
"In one of the rooms upstairs. F- Frazer has h- hung him from the ceiling by his arms."
Or Frazer didn't have more restraint with Banner, he'd simply held off killing him in order to be able to 'play' with him a little first. On some level, Don found that he was happy at this turn of events, rather than simply being horrified at another man's torture. The longer Frazer was occupied with Banner, the longer he'd be left in peace.
"Frazer's torturing him, isn't he?" Don questioned heavily.
Lawson merely nodded instead of responding, looking close to a total nervous collapse. Didn't Keane realize what he was doing to the boy, Don wondered. Couldn't he see it? Or was Lawson not important enough for him to take much note of? Someone like Keane would have a hard time empathizing with anyone else, especially a geek like Lawson. It was amazing enough already that he seemed to feel something for him, though it seemed based more on admiration of his abilities and skills and the waste of potential it all represented than on anything that made him a person.
He just hoped that Lawson could hold on for a bit longer. Don was sure that something was going to give sooner rather than later at this point, it was just a matter of time really. Either he would come up with a workable escape plan, his team would find them or Keane would end things on his terms. While he hated to acknowledge the latter option, it was a real possibility that couldn't be ignored. In the meantime, though, he had this mess to deal with first, not that he was sure what he was going to say when Keane came down to speak to him about it.
Well, at least he'd managed to prove that he wasn't quite as harmless as Keane had assumed he now was.
Somehow that wasn't quite as comforting as he'd hoped it would be. Not when it was like this, when he was still stuck helplessly at Keane's mercy.
Chapter 21