Work Text:
How in god’s name someone managed to kidnap five LAFD firefighters was too much for any of them to even fathom. It stopped being important after the first twenty-four hours. With all of the questions they were faced with, the ‘how’ of it all was arguably the least important.
From the moment they came-to in an unfamiliar shipping container to now, some indeterminate number of hours into the third day, at least they weren’t being hurt. In fact, for nearly seventy-two hours, they hadn’t even seen their captors. A small sliding latch on the two doors to the container would open twice a day to slide through packages of food and bottled water. Whether it would continue to be true or not, it seemed their captors were planning on keeping them alive. Small miracles.
As someone who has been kidnapped before, Eddie would like to go on record as saying that the past two-ish days have been far from the worst he’s experienced. Even if it was only for a few hours compared to over two days, this kidnapping was a fun vacation compared to him and Buck being taken at gunpoint by two escaped convicts that threatened his son.
At least, it was for a while.
Two days of pissing in a bucket and sitting in a tiny metal box with your coworkers gets a bit grating no matter how close they are. The smell of five bodies sweating in an almost-airtight shipping container becomes bearable the longer they stay safe. Sleeping isn’t exactly comfortable either, but considering their physical boundaries had to disappear within the first couple hours, trading off laying their heads in each other's laps worked well enough once sleeping became a desperate issue.
It became increasingly painful to think about as the time passed by painstakingly slowly. Their families, however far away they were, waiting for them to come home. The longer they spent there without even the slightest hint of where they were or who they were taken by, the more hopeless they felt.
“You think he knows?” Eddie eventually asked, sitting beside Buck with their shoulders pressed together, backs against the metal walls.
Buck hummed inquisitively, not understanding.
Eddie continued to fidget with his hands resting on his knees.
“Chris,” he mumbled. “You think he knows I didn’t want to leave? That…that I didn’t just decide I didn’t want to be his dad anymore and leave without saying goodbye?.”
Of course he had been worried about that. Regardless, Buck shook his head immediately.
“He’s probably just worried. He knows how hard you’ve fought to make it home in the past,” the younger man assured him. “Yeah, he might’ve thought that for a second, but there’s not a chance he thinks you aren’t doing everything you can to get out of here and get back to him.”
Eddie just scoffed, “I’m not doing anything.”
Well…unfortunately that was mostly true.
“We’re cooperating,” Buck countered. “We’re not taking stupid risks.”
With a huff of amusement, Eddie’s elbow jabbed into his side, making the blond instinctively start to play-wrestle a bit before the momentary distraction vanished and reality settled back in. They were still trapped.
“I just…would’ve done so many things if I’d known how long we would be here,” he sighed, rubbing his hands down his face. “Even if we make it out of here—”
“We will,” Buck interrupted stubbornly, reaching over to wrap his hands around one of Eddie’s wrists. “We will. I’m not giving up until I get you home.”
God, it was just so… Buck. So painfully, perfectly Buck that Eddie found himself unable to stop from smiling even in the face of literally having been kidnapped.
“Good luck with that ‘cause I’m not going anywhere unless you’re coming with me,” he countered with a fond smile, ducking his head as if Buck would see something he couldn’t even define himself. “How long do you think it’ll take?”
How long until someone finds us?
How long before our captors give up waiting and just kill us?
How long until we all lose hope?
Buck just shrugged.
“As long as it takes,” he offered with a half-hearted huff of a laugh. “I don’t know. I guess I don’t mind if it takes a while. Better for us to be stuck here than for them to have killed us days ago.”
Eddie snorted, shaking his head exasperatedly.
“Only you would look at it that way,” the brunet teased. “I don’t know how you manage to look on the bright side while still being so depressing.”
The younger man cocked his head to the side with a smile, clearly pleased with himself.
“Besides, it’d feel like cheating if I got kidnapped with anyone else,” Buck smirked, slinging his arm across Eddie’s shoulders only to be shrugged right off.
“Alright, alright,” Eddie chuckled. “No sweaty pits in my face until we get out of here.”
Buck held up his hands in mock defense, slouching back against the wall with a low thump of the metal.
The next few hours passed just like all of the previous ones had. Dull. Sweaty. Miserable.
Buck supposed he should’ve known it was too good to be true that they’d all been left unharmed for so long. It was only a matter of time.
They could track daylight through small cracks around the bolts that held together the shipping container, not that they really had much light regardless of the time of day, but it at least allowed them to keep track of how many days had passed since they’d been taken.
It was some point during the night between days three and four that the door swung open, startling them all and rousing the few who had managed to fall asleep.
There, illuminated by moonlight, was a large man with very obvious gun in hand, the LED light affixed on top of it temporarily blinding them all one by one as he scanned the container.
“One of you, up,” he commanded, whacking the barrel of the gun against the metal wall, sending a loud clanging sound echoing down the container. None of them moved, too startled and terrified to risk it when they were all staring down the barrel.
The man, clearly not interested in waiting around, lifted his gun and fired it right through the ceiling, making all five of them jump where they sat, some more startled than others. Out of pure instinct, Buck lunged to place himself between the gun and Eddie shaking behind him.
“Either one of you volunteers or I choose for you,” he demanded, his voice firm as it broke through the silence. “Up.”
Well, he certainly wasn’t about to let anyone else be put in that position. Even if it was only to bide the time a little longer before they were found, there was no world in which he let someone else take his place.
Buck shot to his feet, the bright light of the scope immediately landing on his face as he squinted. He was sure the others were protesting, calling out for him to sit down, but it was like the light had blocked out all of his other senses along with his vision. He squirmed under the weight of the man’s devilish stare that he knew was just out of sight.
“Very well,” the man concluded, seemingly not caring who it was who volunteered. “Arms out in front of you.”
Now faced with the very real possibility of being shot point-blank in the head in front of his family, he complied without a moment of hesitation, his eyes nearly shut as the light continued to sear his eyes. After three days of almost complete darkness inside the container, he could do nothing to stop the burn on his retinas, his eyes tearing up just to soothe the pain.
He couldn’t help but jump as another person entered the container, considering the gun the original man was wielding continued to point between his eyes. A thick, jute rope was wrapped around his wrists in a tight twist, locking his arms together and digging into his skin as the second set of hands yanked on the ropes to tighten them.
“Come with us, the rest of you—stay,” the man’s voice boomed once more, tugging Buck forward as he stumbled, his footfalls echoing on the metal floor before the rush of cool air hit his sweat-soaked skin, his eyes pinched shut despite his urge to open them.
He knew he needed to see where they were. Any identifiable detail could be important, but these guys had clearly thought things through. Keeping them deprived of light for days only to blind them with LEDs pretty much ensured none of them would be seeing anything.
The sound of the container doors slamming shut once more was enough to make him flinch where he stood, the realization that he’d just been cut off from his family sending a chill down his spine.
He was dragged by his wrists until his feet met a change in the ground, no longer stiff dirt, but more metal. Another container.
Before he had a chance to dread what was coming, his arms were weighed down by a heavy metal latch, the sound of a chain jangling before, in one fell swoop, his arms were yanked up above his head.
He couldn’t stop himself from crying out both from the pain of the instain strain on his shoulders, as well as the surprise of yet another movement he couldn’t see coming. The stretch continued until his toes just barely reached the floor, his shoulders aching almost immediately as he did what he could to relax his muscles and get as much stability from his feet as possible.
“Alright, blondie, you’ve got a decision to make,” that now-familiar voice crooned as Buck squirmed, feeling nothing short of painfully vulnerable as he dangled there defenseless. “It seems enough people have finally noticed that you and your friends disappeared. Congrats, your little sob story made the news.”
Yeah, no shit, he snapped back in his head. You kidnapped five firefighters. People love firefighters.
“I gotta’ be honest, it’s some real tear-jerkin’ shit they’re saying,” he continued. “You know, if I’d known you all had families, kids, and all that…” Buck’s small little flicker of hope was almost immediately snuffed out as the man paused with a sharp bark of a laugh. “Nah, I’m teasin,’ I was never one for kids myself. I sure bet your friends would like to hear what they have to say, hmm?”
Where the hell was he going with this?
“So I’m gonna’ make you a deal, blondie, since you were kind enough to volunteer yourself,” a hand wrapped around his arm, making Buck jerk away violently out of pure instinct. “I’ll let your friends see this little message your families made, if you—“
“Yes,” Buck blurted before he could think any better of it. He didn’t care what his side of the deal would be, it would almost assuredly be worth it. “I’ll do it.”
The man laughed, loud and cruel.
“What, you don’t even want to hear what you’re signing up for?” He jabbed back. “What if I said I was gonna’ kill you, hmm? Not so eager now, I suppose.”
Well…
If he was being honest, Buck was pretty willing to do whatever this guy asked. If he had been taken alone, well, he would’ve fought back with all he had to give. But knowing his family was in danger, knowing they’d likely have to face the aftermath of whatever he did, he couldn’t help but want to be cooperative.
“I’ll do it,” he choked out again. “Anything, just…just…”
The man huffed a sharp laugh, echoing around the enclosed space.
“Alright, alright, no nead to get so eager,” huffed. “Well, thanks to your… cooperation, your friends’ll be watching some sweet little videos from the news.”
Oh. Good, that’s…that’s good.
“And you are gonna’ help me send a little message back to the LAFD to let ‘em know what happens when they decide not to work with what I’m askin’ for.”
Ah. There it is. Great.
“So my partner here’s gonna’ bring in a video player to your friends while you and I…” he trailed off, the air in the room thick with anxiety. “Are gonna’ have a bit of fun.”
It’s worth it. It’s worth it, they have kids to see, they have partners that love them and no-doubt have messages pleading for their safe return.
He can handle whatever this guy wants to do to him.
He just…needs to remember what it’s for.
Easy.
The bright light of the scope disappears and for one brief moment, it’s not so bad. For those last few seconds, everything’s okay.
Eddie is pretty sure he hasn’t taken a single breath since two bastards with rifles took his best friend away and didn’t bring him back. At least, that’s what he must be doing considering the looks the rest of his team has been giving him.
The last thing he can handle is that son of a bitch coming back without Buck, and yet of course that’s what happens. Because this nightmare can’t get any worse.
When the doors finally open again, it’s barely long enough to even react. A big black box comes sliding in through the opening and, just like that, the door slams closed once again.
“The hell is that?” Eddie can’t help but be a bit pessimistic just on the basis that he’d really prefer his best friend back and not this random hunk of plastic or whatever it is.
Chimney approaches the box, tapping on it a couple times before he stops.
“Huh.”
“What is it?” They’re all practically holding their breath, but its Hen that voices it.
“It’s a TV,” Chim answered with a shrug. “D’you think—”
And of course, because stressing them out is this bastard’s favorite pastime, he’s interrupted by the sound of static as the screen flickers to life, casting a glow over everything in the container. If it hadn’t been so long since they’d all seen light, it might’ve been something worth watching, but considering everything just looked like a colorful, blur, Eddie found himself pinching his eyes shut in favor of just listening in.
The voice that follows is unmistakable.
“Welcome back to Channel 9 News, once again following up on the report of five LAFD firefighters who have been missing for over three days now.” Taylor Kelly’s voice has always been grating, at least to Eddie, but he’s never been so willing to relieved to hear it. “We’ll be continuing to air this morning’s press conference in an attempt to appeal to the suspected kidnappers. The family and friends of the victims have rallied together to plead for the safe return of their loved ones, the city of Los Angeles searching far and wide for five of our beloved civil servants who dedicate their lives to helping those in need. Now it’s simply time for us to return the favor. Once again, I’m Taylor Kelly with Channel 9 News and my heart goes out to the families impacted by this ongoing investigation.”
Well. It was nice enough, he supposed. He was fairly certain it wasn’t Taylor that wrote the speech, but regardless. That wasn’t the part that really mattered.
“My name is Athena Grant,” the familiar woman’s voice followed. “I’m a sergeant with the LAPD and Bobby Nash, the captain of station 118 and one of the five members of the LAFD that has been missing for three days now.”
Luckily, in the light of the glowing television, he was able to see his captain’s face. He was standing there, eyes wide and mesmerized as his wife proceeded to plead for his safe return.
“I love each and every one of them like they’re my own family. I know they’ll look out for each other and I know…I know they’re hanging on. For my Bobby…take care of our babies, yeah? I’ll never stop searching for you.”
Karen followed suit, Denny echoing her words with pleas for his mother to come home. It was obvious, even without being able to see the screen clearly, that she was trying to be strong for her son and their foster children, no-doubt terrified behind her brave face of the prospect that her wife may not come home.
Maddie…Maddie was a tough one to watch. The news package continued to call attention to the fact that both her brother and her fiancé had been taken, reminding her over and over as if it wasn’t clearly tearing her apart inside.
But nothing could’ve prepared him for his own son.
“Do you have anything you want to say to your dad, if he’s watching?”
Was it terrible to wish he wasn’t watching?
“No—no, I’m not talking to him!” Chris resisted, pulling away from where he stood with Carla’s arm around his shoulders. “He promised he wouldn’t leave, he promised!”
Jesus fucking christ.
“Honey, your dad is doing everything he can to come home, I promise you that,” Carla intervened, rubbing a soothing hand up and down the boy’s back, only that didn’t seem to be good enough for Christopher.
“Dad said he’d never leave and Buck said he’d never leave and…and they both left—” His behavior was unlike anything Eddie had ever witnessed from his son. Chris was usually on the more even-keeled side. Even in overwhelming times, he was more likely to cry regardless of whether he was happy or furious and anything in between. He wasn’t a yeller.
He was a gentle soul, it was one of Eddie’s favorite things about him. Something he wouldn’t have known how to teach his son even if he tried. Something that was just so… intrinsically Chris that it had to be a testament to who he was in his soul.
“Oh, Eddie,” Hen spoke up beside him, reaching out as if anything but a hig from his son would possibly be able to soothe him. He jolted away from her, standing and retreating to the back of the storage container.
He left his son.
He left his son again. Even after he promised he wouldn’t.
Chris was right.
By the time Buck was released from his bindings, he didn’t even notice. His arms had gone completely numb, all the way up to his shoulders.
The punishment he’d signed himself up for hadn’t even been as bad as he’d expected. Not that it was saying much considering he wouldn’t have been surprised to just be killed on the spot, but considering with each blow he just reminded himself that everyone else was getting to see their families again, even if it was just though a TV screen.
At least they didn’t hit him in the head. He really did not want to deal with another concussion.
Sure, he might have a few bruised or fractured ribs, but it was far from the worst he’d been through. A couple punches to the gut, kicks in the ribs, nothing too bad. No real weapons, just two men taking their aggression out on him like a human punching bag.
It was just…easier…to shut his brain off, just in case.
It was no use trying to struggle to get free as he was taken back to the shipping container. Not that he wanted to be anywhere that wasn’t with his family, but he knew he’d regret not trying to find help the longer it took for them to be rescued.
The sound of a heavy, metal door was a grating shock to his system before a feeling of weightlessness followed as he was thrown to the floor and the door slammed shut behind him once again.
“Oh my g— Buck!”
As soon as the others called out for him, rushing to tend to his injuries, Eddie was snapped out of his miserable spiral. If he couldn’t have Chris, he’d cling desperately to Buck in the meantime.
Hen was frantically checking over him to the best of her ability now that they’d once again been submerged in complete darkness. Apparently, when they brought Buck back, they’d taken the TV with them.
“...Buck?”
Eddie approached hesitantly, as if he’d be told not to come any closer. The man in question was laid on his back with his head in Bobby’s lap, Hen gently feeling around his sides for any urgent injuries.
He continued to inch closer, holding himself up on the wall, not wanting to hurt anyone in his blind stumbling.
“Eds?” Buck asked faintly, not exactly having the best breath supply after the beating he’d taken.
Eddie just sunk to his knees, reaching blindly until he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder, tugging gently.
“C’mere, son,” Bobby directed him, pulling in the right direction until Eddie’s hands finally made contact. “Here. Right here, here’s his hand.”
The older man guided his fumbling hand until he found Buck’s forearm, tracing the length of his familiar skin until he could wrap his fingers around where Buck was clutching at his side.
“Fuck,” Eddie choked out, all of his overwhelming emotions finally bubbling up to the surface. “Why the fuck did you do that?”
His voice was so pathetically strained, choked out between bouts of reluctant tears.
“Sorry,” Buck replied, genuinely sounding at least a little but apologetic. “‘m sorry.”
Pure exhaustion from the past few days finally caught up to him as he laid himself down on the younger man’s chest, shaking hands clinging to any and every part of him Eddie could reach.
“Don’t ever fucking do that to me again,” he grumbled into Buck’s chest, voice breaking the whole way through. “I swear to god, Evan, promise me right now.”
“Can’t,” Buck protested, at least having the decency to sound apologetic about it. “Need you safe.”
If he wasn’t flying blind, Eddie would’ve smacked him for it. He would be willing to bet that Bobby was in agreement.
“Yeah, and I need you to not be dead, dumbass,” he fired right back, hand pressed against the rhythm of his best friend’s beating heart. “You scared me so fucking bad.”
Buck wanted more than anything to reach up and hold the older man closer, but his arms absolutely refused to cooperate.
“What the hell did they do to you?” Eddie asked, horrified and small. Buck absolutely never wanted to hear that tone of voice ever again.
He shook his head. It wasn’t anything worth worrying over. It was done, in the past, and he felt better already just being back with his family. It was all superficial anyway, maybe a few fractures, but nothing he hadn’t seen before.
“It’s okay,” Buck answered instead, letting the relief of saying the words out loud cement the truth in his mind. “I’m okay, Eds.”
Either he already saw it coming that Buck wouldn’t tell them what had happened to him, or he somehow miraculously agreed that it wasn’t important, but Eddie didn’t push any further on the subject, resorting to just laying there curled up against his only lifeline. He didn’t sleep a wink, he couldn’t. The only reason Buck managed to was because he was so brutally exhausted, but all four of the others spent the rest of the night circled around him like a human shield.
Thoughts of what would happen the next time those doors opened plagued all of their minds throughout the night. The waiting became cruel, offering up nothing but time to be spent spiralling into worst-case-scenarios.
In the end, the next time those doors opened, it was to the gentle glow of daybreak, sirens and radios blaring through the shipyard as a familiar face stood at the opening, relief flooding her features as Athena Grant called out that she’d found them, rushing in and throwing her arms around as many people as she could manage.
For once, there was no mention of days-old breath when she pulled her husband in for a desperate kiss, no mention of the horrific smell, just the tightest hug for each and every one of them, and even a kiss on the cheek or forehead.
Their days spent in that shipping container could’ve been far worse. They saw worse time and time again on the job.
But at least they had each other to lean on.