Chapter Text
Herrmann and Kidd were waiting outside at the truck while the others checked out the situation. It was a bit weird, Herrmann thought, nobody meeting them outside of the building. Casey had seemed a bit suspicious too, that’s why he ordered them to stay behind while they checked out the alarm system. Maybe it was just a false alarm due to a technical failure. A bit bored by the waiting, Herrmann scanned the other side of the street.
“Herrmann.”
The sound of Kidd’s voice made him turn around again, and he stopped frozen. Casey was led out of the building by two beefy men. His turnouts were gone, and he had his hands bound behind his back. Black duct tape covered his mouth.
“What the hell…” Herrmann muttered. Swinging the Halligan in his hand, he took some steps towards them. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?! You’ll better let him go at once.”
Kidd grabbed for her radio, pressing down on the button to call for help. “Truck 81 to…”
“I’d not do that if I were you.”
There was a third man strolling casually towards them. He was of lean build, smug smile on his clean-shaven face. In his right hand a gun was held loosely. He swung it lightly, then pointed it directly to Casey’s head. “Here’s what I want from you. Put your radios down. Grab the equipment you need to tear down a wall and open the door of a vault and bring it over to the white truck that’s parked over there.” He pointed a few metres down the street.
Herrmann looked at Casey who shook his head frantically. Taking another step towards the guy, he asked, “And why would we do that?”
“Because”, the man smiled, unlocking his weapon, “if you don’t, he dies.” He pressed the gun against Casey’s temple.
Herrmann gritted his teeth. “Where’s Mouch and Otis?” he demanded.
“Oh, don’t worry. Your friends are unharmed. Wouldn’t be able to say the same about your captain though if you don’t comply now.” His eyes hardened, and if to proof his point, he clenched a fist and slammed it into Casey’s stomach with full force. Casey doubled over, grunting from the sudden pain and breathing heavily through his nose.
“Alright, alright!” Kidd shouted, “We get it.” She pulled the radio over her head and lay it on the ground. Scowling, Herrmann followed her example.
“Now gather your tools”, the smug guy said, “and get to the truck.”
They did as they were told, always aware of the gun pressing into Casey’s head. The truck captain’s expression was rather pissed, and despite the weapon he tried to struggle against the hold of the two henchman who had gripped his upper arms tightly. Smug man let him have his way, slightly amused smirk on his face.
Once they had loaded all the tools into the white truck, Herrmann and Kidd were instructed to climb onto the loading area. The henchmen shoved Casey in, one of them climbing in behind him. He grabbed the captain by his hair and pulled him against his chest. Casey let out a muffled scream of pain, but was kicking and flailing, nevertheless. Until the man held a gun under his chin, pressing it hard against his throat.
The back doors of the truck were closed, and soon after, the engine started.
About a half-our drive later, the truck came to a halt, and they were led into a building that looked like an abandoned, run-down school. The men walked them into a single-windowed room in the basement that was empty except for a table and a sink in one of the corners. While his henchmen took Casey into their harsh grip again, the smart-looking guy played casually with the gun in his hand. “Alright… My name is Mugs, and here’s how this goes. You can cooperate with me, and nobody will be harmed. You get me access to that vault and open its door. Afterwards, I will let you go. Or”, he held the barrel under Casey’s chin and lifted it up, meeting his furious glare with nothing but a smirk, “you deny your services… and your captain here will pay for it. And believe me, I know a way or two to make someone suffer.” He looked at Herrmann and Kidd now with hard eyes. “I already realised your captain is too stubborn for his own good. I hope the two of you are more sensible.” Putting the gun down, he added casually, “I’ll give you some time to think about it. Use it wisely.” He patted Casey’s cheek, causing the captain to turn his head away in disgust. Laughing lowly, Mugs walked out of the door, signalling his henchmen. They gave Casey a harsh shove landing him on his knees. Then the door fell close behind them, and they could hear the tell-tale sound of a lock.
Herrmann wasted no time, rushing over and ripping the tape from Casey’s mouth. Casey cringed, cursing through gritted teeth. “Fuck.”
“Yeah, I can agree to that”, Herrmann muttered.
“What happened in there, Captain?” Kidd asked while she was checking on his ties. From the corner of his eye Herrmann saw they had used a zip-tie, which would be hard to get off.
Casey huffed. “They set up a trap… Locked Mouch and Otis in as soon as they walked in to check on the distributor box while I got distracted by some smoke they set up in another room. Knocked me on the head pretty good, and when I had my senses back, that gun was already held in my face.”
“Fucking bastards”, Herrmann hissed through his teeth. “Making any progress there, Kidd?”
She shook her head. “Nah, I’m afraid it’s pretty pointless without a knife. Sorry, Captain.”
“Never mind.” He shifted, trying to get on his feet. “We need to find a way out of here.”
Herrmann grabbed his arm and helped him up. “Agreed… That guy didn’t seem like a man to meddle with.”
But before they could take stock of the room, they heard the key turn in the lock again. “And blessed with the patience of a toddler. Great”, Herrmann mumbled. Positioning himself before him and Kidd, Casey said firmly, “Whatever he’s got in store – we’re not helping them. Are we all clear on this?”
“Of course, Captain.”
“Got it, Captain.”
The three men walked in, the henchmen silent as before, Mugs smug as ever. “I guess you’ve done the necessary talking. So, how’s it going to be, Captain? Will you help us and walk out of here, or would you rather take round one with me?”
“We are not helping you”, Casey stated firmly.
“Alright.” Mugs shrugged. “Your choice.” He signalled his henchmen, and they walked towards them. Casey tried to shield both Herrmann and Kidd, but with his hands still bound on his back, he hadn’t much to counter the guy who grabbed him, and before Herrmann or Kidd got the chance to fight the other one off, Mugs had drawn his gun again. “You two, over there.” He pointed to one side of the room where the heating pipes were running up the wall. They were ordered to sit down, and henchman No 1 cuffed them to the pipe, one of each of their hands with the cuff running behind the pipe so that they were not only attached to the wall but tied together as well. Meanwhile, henchman No 2 had cut the zip-tie around Casey’s wrists, holding the struggling captain tightly by his arms.
“Bring him over.” Mugs had stepped behind the table, putting the gun into his waistband. Casey struggled pretty good, but with henchman No 1 to the help, they got him under control, smashing his upper body over the table. No 1 held him down with his weight and an iron grip in his neck while No 2 grabbed one of his arms at a time and tied his wrists to the table’s legs. When the hand let go of his neck and No 1 stepped back, Casey wasn’t able to straighten up, his arms pulled painfully in different directions, spread over the length of the table. He struggled against the restraints, but all it did was chafing his wrists.
“Alright, Captain”, Mugs said, “one last time – are you going to help us?”
Casey gritted his teeth. “No.”
Mugs shook his head. “What a pity.” He stepped behind the restrained captain, grabbed for the collar of his shirt, and ripped it apart in one quick move. Looking over at Herrmann and Kidd, he asked casually, “What about you? Do you want to watch me beat your captain up, or are you going to spare him that?”
“Don’t you dare, Herrmann”, Casey growled.
Herrmann stared daggers at their captor. “We are not helping you”, he spat.
Mugs just shrugged. “Fine with me.” He took his belt off and let it slide through his hands. Then he took a step back and brought it done hard on Casey’s bare back.
The truck captain flinched at the impact, but he barely made a sound, only a low grunt between his gritted teeth. The muscles on his arms tightened, pulling at the ropes around his wrists each time he braced himself for the next hit. Both Herrmann and Kidd flinched at the sound of each slap, squeezing their eyes shut on instinct. The whole time, Casey stayed admirably calm, even when the sickening sound of cracking skin told the beating was getting bloody. Only once, a low cry escaped his lips, then he went silent again save for pained grunts in between his heavy breaths.
After what seemed like an eternity, the sounds of the beating finally stopped. It was silent for a moment, then Casey let out a startled yelp. Cracking his eyes open, Herrmann saw Mugs had a hand fisted in the captain’s hair, pulling his head back. “One hell of a tough man, aren’t you, Captain”, he smirked. “Quite impressive, I must admit… I’ve heard people scream at far less than that.” He smashed his head back down on the table, earning another grunt from Casey when his chin connected hard with the wood. “Alright, I’ll give you some more time to think… and be assured, if I still don’t like your answer then, I will make you scream.”
He signalled his men, who came and started undoing the ropes tying Casey to the table and ripping the remnants of his shirt off. He tried to take advantage of the moment, but they had expected something like that and held his arms roughly, twisting them behind his back while again holding him down on the table. His wrists were bound tightly, then they hauled him up and held him be his upper arms. Mugs stepped up in front of him with his torn shirt in his hands, ripping a piece of it off and balling it. He grabbed Casey’s chin which already showed signs of a massive bruise and stuffed the cloth in his mouth. He ripped another part of the shirt, twisted it, and forced it between the captain’s teeth, tying it tightly around his head. Done gagging him, Mugs took the belt up again he had discarded on the table earlier and let it fly across Casey’s bare chest a few times, leaving bright red welts. He switched the belt around then and brought the buckle down hard against the captain’s rib cage on both sides, until he had Casey writhing in the hold of the henchmen, letting out muffled sounds of pain. Putting the belt away, Mugs gave his men a nod, and they brought Casey roughly down to his knees, then shoved him face down to the floor. They tied his ankles and connected the rope with the ties on his wrists, his feet almost touching his hands.
With the truck captain thoroughly bound, Mugs turned towards Herrmann and Kidd again. “I’d advise you to decide wisely. Next time, I’m not going to handle him with kid’s gloves anymore.”
“Just fuck off, asshole”, Herrmann growled, though inwardly, he was afraid for his friend. If what they’d just witnessed was Mugs’ idea of kid’s gloves, he didn’t dare think about what he held in store for Casey next.
Mugs just chuckled lightly before he left the room with his henchmen. The door fell shut with a loud bang, and again, they heard the sounds of a key turning in the lock.