(no subject)

[baals]

Hiding on Earth turned out to be quite the productive endeavor for Ba'al. He fit in absurdly easily in the world of business. While expanding into the business world he likewise expanded into the criminal world.

In the business world he's known as Hannibal Hadad. His holdings, which started in an areo-space company, expanded into real-estate, construction and string of electronics retailers.

In the criminal world he's known as simply The Boss. His criminal network, stretches into the usual suspects of guns, drugs and smuggling.

Spread across both the business and the criminal side are oddities. On their own, they just seem strange. Together, something big is being built. Something high tech. It could be anything from missiles to fighter jets. Whatever it is he's taking great pains that the government and the larger criminal underworld don't know what he's doing.

Seeing as he's making an effort to hid it. He shouldn't let the recently hired undercover FBI agent anywhere near himself or anything important. He could just feed him false leads down the chain. But... quite frankly, he's bored.

After a couple months, he calls him to his office. Enough time passed to not be suspicious and give Mike time to make a reasonable impression.

Ba'al's office is a modern minimalist style. All clean lines and simple shapes. No unnecessary furniture. As for himself, he's always wearing some designer suit or another. He's standing and looking over some papers on his desk when Mike enters. The papers are Mike's personnel file.

"Ah, yes. It's good to finally meet you. Michael, is it? Or Mike?" He holds out a hand to shake, which he won't last too long or too briefly. "You've been doing excellent work under Johnathan."

Comments

[501s]

Having been in the exact same situation, Mike clearly held no judgments. He would be following in a short time, he had no doubt. But for now, he just gripped a handful of his slacks in his free hand, trying to keep the pressure off. He could last longer. He had to.

"A monster," he admitted. "I don't mean like...Bello. Or...or even Jangles. This is going to sound absolute insane, but I saw his eyes glow. And some of the tech he's got...it's impossible."

[buddhistbeatdown]

"That's one hellva monster." It does sound crazy but it's starting to make sense. The only thing that made sense is an unknown factor. A literal monster seems like an unknown factor. The mention of Jangles only makes him more convinced he needs to get them both out of here. Maybe if he can get inside the monster's head... figure out what buttons to push.

"We're bugs in a jar. Only... he specifically targeted you, right?" He has a thought on that he's not prepared to elaborate where someone could be listening. But asking may be enough to consider why he was targeted and maybe a way to use that.

[501s]

Mike nodded. "I'm the one who got close to him, so I'm the one he wants. He only wants you cause I dragged you into it."

Okay, anticipating it was making things worse. Grinding his teeth together, he tried to stave off the feeling. But all at once, he reached a point where he just couldn't take it anymore. Dropping the sheet, he twisted around and put his back against the bed. With a great sigh of relief, he unzipped his pants and pulled himself free.

"For the record," he said over his shoulder. "I'm never going commando again."

[buddhistbeatdown]

Briggs lifts his head up long enough to reply, "Commando? Seriously? Oh, I am surprised you lasted this long."

The reprieve he felt with the cool air is starting to wear off. While there's no way for his dick to get harder than it is, other sensations are starting to build up. It's getting suspiciously close to the feeling of barely being able to touch a high. Then the shivering starts. "Aw, fuck..." he groans. He rolls onto his side and curls in on himself. "...so... uh, you ever... been dosed twice?" A cold sweat follows shortly after. The hyper sensitivity is giving way to pain. To Briggs, it feels almost like withdrawal but with a raging hard-on at its source.

[501s]

The reply to the first remark was on Mike's lips when Briggs cursed. He twisted around to see what was wrong and felt his stomach hit the floor. This wasn't good. This really wasn't good. With the way Briggs looked, there was no way this would be easy on him. Not with his history.

Cursing under his breath, he knew there was only one thing to do. Trying to find the balance between haste and care, he stuffed himself back into his pants and zipped up. In pain, but moderately decent, he got to his feet and went to the camera.

"We had a deal!" His voice came out more frantic than he intended. He couldn't let Briggs in on the actual details. Then it wouldn't work. "You've got no idea what you're doing to him! It's me you want, I'm the one who lied to you, not him!"

[buddhistbeatdown]

As rough as Briggs feels, he's enough there to think this plan is stupid. He props himself up on one arm. "Mike! Chill..." He shoots a glance at the camera then back to Mike. "This is what he wants. Think about it... it's some kind of power trip, right. He wants you to come crawling back." There's a chance he's wrong but it seems like the most likely play.

"Don't give him what he wants," Briggs growls out. Don't make the same mistake he made with Jangles. He slowly sinks back down onto the bed. "I can wait this out..." He's pretty sure he can. Maybe.

[501s]

He can only spare Briggs a glance without letting on to anything. He's not wrong, but it was the plan from the start. He'd made it clear he knew he wouldn't be getting free, even though he tried to run. Crawling back was always inevitable, he just couldn't tell Briggs that.

"That's not what he wants," Mike said, working through the situation. "He wants us to do something stupid. Compromising. Blackmail material." He looked back to the camera, knowing he still didn't have all the pieces. He addressed their captor again. "It doesn't matter what you pump into this room, we're not giving it to you."

[buddhistbeatdown]

"Already pretty fucking compromising over here," Briggs just grumbles from the bed. He doesn't quite think this is about blackmail. A piece of it maybe.

As for compromising, Briggs discovered something. Rubbing himself, even if a bit on the painful side, relieves the withdrawal like symptoms. At least he stopped shivering. He re-positioned himself on the bed so the camera doesn't see anything he's doing.

Meanwhile, their captor shows no signs of replying. But the gas does seem to stop.

[501s]

Mike started to say something, but the words died as Briggs moved. Because Mike looked over his shoulder to see what the other man was doing. It took a moment to squash a thought that drifted through his mind. Help him. Join in. Give in to it all. He could see it far too clearly, like a plan laid out for a mission. The way his hands would slide over Briggs' hip, pushing him back onto the bed...

Visibly shaking his head, Mike positioned himself between the bed and the camera, giving the man further privacy.

"What are you waiting for?!" He said, making sure his voice was loud enough to cover any sound Briggs might make. "We're not going to give you want you want! We're not going to be compromised so easily! So..." He licked his lips, running low on things to say. He couldn't play it safe. He needed to push a few buttons. That was a little harder to do when they were right where the man wanted them. "...send in your guards already! Cause I know you're too much of a coward to do the job yourself! You're probably still sitting at that desk. Telling yourself you're waiting for us to do something. That's all you do. Any man with half your power would have done a thousand more things to me in the time you had me! It's time you stepped up!"

He didn't know why he went that far. But buried deep in a part of his mind that he didn't dare look at, there was a longing. That it would be enough for their captor to show up. To kill him again. To give him just a moment more in that box.

[buddhistbeatdown]

"Mike! Are you trying to get yourself killed? Just cover the fucking camera, man." Briggs does not approve of the 'piss off the guy in charge' tactic. Especially when it feels like Mike is keeping information from him.

He stops what he's doing and props himself up again. "Just stop for a second... We don't hold all the cards here."

As for the one Mike is yelling at, there's no apparent response. Not for several minutes.

"Kill him." The voice comes from a speaker by the door. "Then we'll talk."

[501s]

Blatantly ignoring Briggs, Mike continued to stare defiantly into the camera. Getting himself killed was the point. It would be easy enough to convince Briggs to leave after that. Their captor was smart enough to be able to keep any further investigations chasing their tails. Mike would be stuck, but the cost was worth it. So long as Briggs walked free.

"No." His response was immediate but firm. There was no question here. "I won't do what you're afraid to do yourself!"

[buddhistbeatdown]

In a moment of clarity, Briggs thinks he understands what's going on. There's still some pieces missing. It is about control but not obvious control. It's... like something he would do. Shit.

Mike is making it worse for both of them and he doesn't even know it. Briggs' body screams at him as he forces it to move. This probably won't go well but he's going to try anyway... maybe he won't end up with broken ribs this time. It takes everything he's got to grab Mike and try to get him in a choke hold. "Stop."

[501s]

Not thinking Briggs was even in a state to get off the bed, Mike didn't think about the sound of movement behind him. He focused on the camera, on the door, on the vents. Waiting for their captor to make a move.

He let out sound of surprise as Briggs grabbed him, fighting back on pure instinct. For more than a moment, he once again doubted the man. Thinking him to be taking the command to heart. That he intended to kill him. In part because he'd been too slow, he couldn't get enough leverage to land a proper attack.

"Damn it Briggs!" He choked out, trying to leverage an elbow against the man's ribs. "If you kill me, he gets what he wants!"

[buddhistbeatdown]

Of course Mike thinks he's trying to kill him, he half laughs. "I'm not going to kill you." Each word is gritted out in a harsh whisper. "Just... shut up."

He does everything he can to keep hold of Mike. He doesn't want to choke him out and he might not even be able to like he is. With his nerves so keyed up it feels to him like his ribs shattered at the elbowing, even if at most they'll be bruised. He lets out an undignified whimper against the back of Mike's neck. He keeps his grip for the moment but he won't be able to take another hit without letting go.

[501s]

Briggs had no idea just how bad this could be. He'd never seen a monster like this. He had to get out and let Mike stay behind. Muttering an apology under his breath, he made his move. He knew how much he'd hurt under those ropes. He only had to hope the same was true for Briggs in this state.

He didn't move to attack. At least not the same way. He just reached for the man's cock. And squeezed. Proving just what those hand exercises had been doing for him.

[buddhistbeatdown]

It really was the last thing Briggs was expecting. He tries fight through the sudden shockwave of pain. That only lasts a few seconds before he crumples and releases Mike. He almost doubles over and probably will the moment Mike lets go. After just choking on his own breath, he desperately mutters "let go" over and over. It's taking real effort to not scream.

He'll end up curled up on floor. It's not as bad as being kicked in the balls but it's pretty damn close. He's conscious but incapacitated. He's too distracted with pain and an over excited nervous system to get angry. He'll be pissed later.

[501s]

At first, Mike's plan was to just surprise him and use that to break free. But once he squeezed there was a very serious problem in front of him: retaliation. If he let go, Briggs would bring it back on him, ten fold. He had the tiger by the tail, so to speak. So he couldn't let go. Not until Briggs was on the ground and not moving.

Only then did he let go and back away. He even had his hands spread at about chest level, showing to both parties involved that he wasn't going to make another move. Not yet.

"See?!" He said to the camera. "I won't kill him! I can't!"

[buddhistbeatdown]

"In that case, I'd rather keep you both." the voice comes through the speaker. Their captor goes silent after that.

Briggs remains on the floor for several minutes while he gathers himself. This is bad. He may not know exactly what this guy is capable of but he has a fairly good idea. Given what's already happened.

"Are you done?" he asks as he slowly works on getting to his feet. He's angry but it's taking a back seat to the drugs.

[501s]

"That wasn't the deal!" Mike explodes the moment the voice goes silent. First he tries to attack the camera, trying to pull it off the wall. Then he's at the door, alternating between pulling and kicking at it.

"No, I'm not done!" He snaps at Briggs. He paces near the door, scrubbing his hands through his hair. He was an idiot for this. All of it. Every step of the way. He had no more cards to play.

[buddhistbeatdown]

Well, this sure is a mess. Briggs manages to drag himself back over to the bed. He's moving slow and careful.

This is far beyond anything they've ever done or trained for. Survival is the only option. "Okay. Mike?" he says finally, "You need to tell me everything." His expression softens and his voice lowers to a near whisper. "What did he do to you, man?"

[501s]

Stepping back from yet another attempt to attack the door, Mike didn't look at Briggs. In fact, the only sign that he'd even heard the question was a new tension across his back. The way he kept his face turned completely away. Briggs couldn't know. Period. They needed to get him out of there before he could find out.

"Just...kill me, alright?" Mike's tone was quiet but strained. "If one of us gives him what he wants, in some way...maybe he'll open the door. Then you can get out. He'll bring me back." That much he knew. Their captor wasn't going to let him off the hook with something as simple as death at the hands of a man he once trusted.

[buddhistbeatdown]

"No!" Briggs yells back. "I am not giving him anything and least of all you! I will give him nothing!" There's pure rage behind it.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing, Mike. Your plan only works if I'm willing and I am not! There's no way I'm leaving you here."

[501s]

That was enough to get Mike to turn around, because Briggs only thought he knew what he was doing. He knew the file. He knew the man he'd briefly met. He'd seen Mike tied up, and felt the drugs. But that was only the smallest fraction of what awaited him.

"You know?! Do you. Really." All of that tension and frustration was feeding into anger. It was better this than think about how tight his pants were. "I don't even know how long he's had me, Briggs! Or how long he can wait before he brings people back from the dead. Or--or what other tricks he has up his sleeve! I know ten times as much about him and I'm still flying blind! So cut the crap already, you don't know anything about this guy or what I'm doing!"

[buddhistbeatdown]

"That's the fucking point, Mike!" The shot of adrenaline that comes with the anger, is enough to get him back on his feet. He's still a little shaky and unwell looking however.

"It's you that I know! You're trying to control this and you can't. Neither of us can!" He has enough in him to take a few steps in Mike's direction. "You need to calm down and think."

[501s]

"I'm trying to control this because if I don't what you're feeling right now--" he gestured with both hands to Briggs' crotch, "--will be the least of your problems!"

He stepped a little closer as well, looking a little like he might take a swing at the man's face. "Think about it, Briggs. If he could bring you back after getting SHOT IN THE HEAD--" he jabbed a finger at Briggs' face. "What do you think he's been doing to me?! How many times do you think I've died!"