HOME | DD

Description
"Get away from me!"
"I'm not trying to- Hey!"
Sadiq tried to grab the struggling Greek and still his trembling body somehow but all he earned from it was a few kicks and disoriented punches. When he had been returned to their prison he had been nothing but a sobbing wreck. Tears had been streaming down his face, still were, and nervous shivers had shaken his frame. The two men who had brought him in had almost been forced to carry him for he refused to move his legs. The Turk quickly understood that he couldn't. When the Russian's minions tossed Heracles into the room their eyes were on Sadiq and for a short, gut-freezing moment he had been convinced that they would do the same to him now; that they would take him to the dark place Heracles' mind was still trapped in. He couldn't even imagine what had been done to the once so proud and cold man. Now he resembled more a terrified child, scared of absolutely everything. Well, maybe not everything. But scared of him for sure. The Turk slowly approached him again after the Greek had fled into a far corner of the room, hugging himself with his face to the wall. It was the creepiest thing he had ever seen. The man rocked back and forth on, humming to himself with a broken voice, always interrupted by the sound of him crying. Holy fuck, what had they done to him?
"Heracles," Sadiq tried to get his attention but his eyes were practically glued to the wall. "Heracles, can ya hear me?" He asked him, trying to speak as softly as he possibly could. The other didn't respond to him, he just hummed louder. Apparently he didn't want to interact with him. A mean, spiteful part of him was about to turn away again. If he didn't want to talk to him, fine! But at the same time he saw this pile of sobbing nothingness that once had been such a strong, self-confident man. He felt as though he needed to protect him, a left-over from his time as his caretaker. He truly just seemed like a child. Sadiq's expression softened a little as pity swept over him. "You need to tell me what happened. Did he hurt you?" He tried to lure some words out of the Greek. There was another reason why he had to get Heracles to tell him what had happened. He knew he would be next and he didn't want to end up like him. So he needed to be prepared for something that was able to reduce his old charge and enemy to… this. Heracles had ceased moving and didn't make a sound. Sadiq saw his chance and slowly put a hand on his shoulder. The man flinched away brutally, almost jumping against the other wall.
"Calm down!" The Turk held up his hands, showing him that he was unarmed. He felt like he was encountering a cornered wild animal. "I won't hurt you. I won't touch you, okay? You're safe. Everything's fine."
"Everything's fine…" The Greek echoed hollowly, apparently without grasping the meaning of those words.
"Yes. Yes, everything's fine." Of course it wasn't. It was far from fine. It was just one of those lies adults told to children to make them feel better. It worked. Heracles slowly relaxed his shoulders and then his arms and eventually turned his head around, gazing at him. He had never seen such an expression before. His eyes were widened but empty, his mouth relaxed but the teeth behind his lips were clenched tightly as though he was in great pain. He was ashen-faced, too. He looked as though he was sick. "Heracles, did he hurt you?" He repeated his question with a stern voice.
This time the Greek nodded. Aside from a few bruises on his face and neck he couldn't detect anything, though. Sadiq let his eyes wander again until he noticed his arms. There were more bruises after all. Dark violet spots covered his forearms, blossoming around tiny plasters.
"Fuck" cursed Sadiq and stared at the lost face of Heracles again. "You're on drugs!" No wonder he behaved so weirdly. They must have given him quite the exotic mix to elicit such a strong reaction from him.  At his exclamation the Greek covered his ears, sobbing once more. "No, no, no." Sadiq grabbed his hands and pulled them away from his head. "It's fine. Everything's fine. You're safe." He continued his chants as he slowly pulled the other man up with him. He staggered and stumbled against him. The Turk looked around, contemplating if he could get him over to the bed or if should just settle for the couch. His malicious side snarled that he could just leave the whimpering shadow of a man on the floor where he found him. Surely he wouldn't care. Hell, Heracles wouldn't do anything to help him, either. No, he was better than that; even though this was his enemy. So he dragged Heracles, all of his uncooperative 160 pounds, over to the bedroom. There he let him fall on the mattress where he instantly curled up on the side, shivering as if he was cold despite it being about thirty degrees in here. Or was that just Sadiq? Just when he wanted to leave again, giving the other some time to calm down and get off the drugs, Heracles gave a high needy noise. The Turk stopped in his tracks. Then he heard it again.
"Sadiq…"
The brat was asking for him? Was he already asleep? No. When he took a closer look he saw the dilated blue eyes staring right at him.
"What?" He asked him carefully.
"Don't leave me." Came the whispered reply.
Oh, that guy was just that fucking high, wasn't he?
"You're confused and probably got quite a few hits on your head. Just sleep already." The Turk reached for the door. As soon as he touched the doorknob a shrill cry exploded in his ears. He whirled around to see Heracles sitting straight in his bed, clawing the sides of his head and screaming at the top of his lungs. It sounded as though someone was tearing him apart. The sound shocked him more than anything. Never before had he heard something so disturbingly painful and scared. That was the moment he realized just what was going on. They weren't here to fight each other. They weren't here to kill each other. They weren't here to save their own skin respectively. No matter what had happened in their past and between them… This was so much worse. Ivan had hurt Heracles more than Sadiq could ever dream of. Maybe by means not unlike his own but that wasn't important. The Greek grew silent again, yet his mouth stayed open for another scream to leave it at any time.
"Ah fuck." Sadiq dashed back to his side, kneeling on the mattress after a moment, and grabbed the man's shoulders. Then he pulled him into a tight hug, trying to keep him from falling apart. The Greek in his arms choked painfully but didn't push him away. Trembling and crying as he was, the Turk wouldn't have let him. "Listen to me, boy. Only to me now. We're gonna get through this. We're gonna get outta here and we're gonna live. And then we can go back to hunting each other if we must. It's okay. You're not alone anymore." He murmured solemnly, his fingers threading themselves into his brown locks, damp with sweat. The man who had his face buried in his shoulder stayed silent. Hopefully, he was listening to him and agreeing. Sadiq could tell by the way Heracles' clung to him that he didn't mind. They had hurt each other, betrayed each other, they were so completely destroyed by each other's hands. And suddenly all of it didn't matter anymore. They needed new priorities. They were each other's life insurance. And for fuck's sake, he would protect Heracles as well as he could.
For the better or for the worse.
---------------------------------------------------
"Who are we supposed to meet here anyway?" The Italian muttered under his breath as he trotted after his two companions. Antonio gave him a confident smile as he explained, glancing over his shoulder: "Liz has looked through Adnan's contacts. We compared the lists and found an organization both, Adnan and Senor Karpusi, have stayed in touch with for a while. We hope it is the link we need to find who is behind their disappearance." Every single word the Spaniard uttered was like a punch to his stomach.
Liz.
He called that woman, that beast, that monster and murderer of his brother, Liz. They compared the lists. They hope. Antonio probably didn't even notice how much he hurt him. Or, what would be worse, he didn't care. Who did he think he was?
The trio walked through the entry hall of a luxurious hotel and was shown to the suit in which they were supposed to wait for the other party of this meeting. The room was even more pompous than the hallway and foyer. Little flames flickered in the fire place near the big sofa. Expensive carpets covered the floor, perfectly matching the colors of the furniture. Everything looked so breakable that none of them knew where they were supposed to sit. The clogs in Antonio's hands found a place on the bookshelf next to a small couch where he sat down. The Hungarian woman folded her arms and leaned against the wall not too far away and he sat down next to Spaniard, not letting go of his gun. It took half an hour until the door opened once more and two women entered the room, followed by a man. They were Asian by looks, their hair dark and thick. They were short even for Mediterranean standards. All of them seemed to be in their twenties, too young to run a company of the size Elizaveta had talked about. Or the actual head of it had died and they were the heirs.
"Good day." The man greeted them with a nod. They returned the gesture but stayed silent until the other had taken a seat. Surprisingly the females stayed where they were.
"You have called us because of our clients Adnan and Karpusi." The male, apparently the leader, opened the conversation. Antonio nodded and answered:  "Yes. We wish to know what kind of business you have with them."
"Why should we tell you about it? Despite your last names we know nothing about you." The other said coldly. Their suspicion was justified the Spaniard had to admit.
"We are their co-workers. And to be fair, despite your company's name we know nothing about you either."
"My name is Jiang Lee. This is Mei-Mei and Linh." He pointed at the two women. "Now you know more."
Elizaveta gave a low chuckle at that. "Could we cut the foreplay and get to the juicy bit now? Can you give us the information we need or not?"
"Why should we?" He looked at her as if he was surprised she wasn't a mute; or had the guts to speak up.
"Can you?" She pressed.
"Yes, of course."
"Will you?"
"Depends on what we get in exchange. Adnan and Karpusi are very good customers and partners of great value for us. We would feel very cheap to give them away just like that."
"They have disappeared." Antonio commented. "We need to find them."
The women shared a little glance at that but Antonio didn't seem to notice. "What makes you so certain that they aren't dead?" Mei-Mei, the younger girl, said slowly. Lee shot her a warning glance.
"Their bodies would have turned up somewhere. And besides, our bosses are not the kind that just dies without a grand exit."
"So you have no facts. Only wishful thinking and assumptions." The Chinese man scoffed. Elizaveta answered sharply: "That is why we are here. To change that. Will you cooperate now or do we have turn your little dolls into Swiss cheese first?" The three Asians remained composed, unimpressed by the Hungarian's threat. However, Romano noticed how Lee's eyes twitched to the sides, looking at the women. He leaned forward, resting elbows on his knees as he tented his fingers. "We will give you all information we have if we get something from you in return." He said slowly.
"Which would be?" Antonio' voice dropped an octave. The Chinaman's expression was unreadable when he answered: "Our oldest brother has disappeared as well. Just a few months ago. Help us find him and we'll help you find your friends."
"We aren't friends." Elizaveta and Romano retorted simultaneously before glaring at each other for a moment. No second later the Spaniard nodded, extending his hand. "Deal."
The Italian's glare shifted to him. "Deal?! Stop making deals with every bastard we come across!" He hissed. "You don't know shit about those guys." His reasoning was in vain, though. Lee already had shaken the offered hand.
Lee and Mei-Mei, siblings they later learned, had two older brothers and one younger. Their mothers were never the same, yet they stuck together as any family would. Their father had died ten years ago and since then the eldest, Yao Wang, had taken care of them. Now he had disappeared into thin air, as though swallowed by the ground beneath his feet. He had inherited the company from their father as well as his position among the Triads. It wasn't too surprising that someone like him, even though not too young and inexperienced, would become victim to assassination. Still, his siblings were convinced that he wasn't dead; just as convinced as Antonio and Elizaveta were. The second in ranking, Kiku, had taken over the company and for a good portion of time Lee and their youngest brother, Yong Soo, had been convinced that he had something to do with Yao's disappearance.
"They didn't get along well." Mei-Mei said quietly, talking to Romano and Elizaveta while Antonio, Lee and Linh(a close friend of the family, they assumed) negotiated and talked their next steps through. The alliance was unstable and nowhere near trustworthy, but it was a start. "As soon as Kiku heard about Brother's fate he had claimed his position. I do believe, though, that deep down he is worried as well. He just doesn't want to let Father down by neglecting the company." She explained. "We haven't heard from him in a while now, too, though." The young woman lowered her dark gaze, a perfect picture of grief. She looked so fragile and soft and simply heart-broken that it was hard not to give her a hug.
Romano shook his head, only listening with one ear. He wasn't interested in the intern family structures of this bunch. Not much that was going on lately, ever since he had gone to Turkey, had interested him greatly. It just wasn't his business. He didn't want to fight an epic battle against the archenemy of some guy he worked for. He didn't want to search valleys and hills for that guy either. He didn't care about Karpusi. All he had done was following Antonio. And what had that given him? His brother was dead, he was in an alliance with his murderer and now had to go on a risky rescue mission with no guarantee of success or his survival. If only he had paid more attention in school, he thought. He could have had a house and family by now, maybe a good enough job. But no. Instead he sat in a hotel room in Thessaloniki together with a group of strangers; one more dangerous than the other, and the only person he thought he could trust was betraying him again and again. How was this worth it?
--------------------------------------------------------
When he awoke he thought he was still in Athens, getting rudely torn from sleep by a hangover. Pain pulsed between his temples, threatening to burst his skull in two. His legs and arms hurt as well as his nose and teeth. All in all he was just a bundle of throbbing and aching body parts. A metallic taste filled his mouth and made his stomach churn yet he didn't move. Even though his insides seemed to be in a state of total chaos outside of his body there was warmth and comfort. A soft blanket was wrapped around his body and his head rested on a cool pillow which helped to soothe his headache. The next thing he noticed was the weight of and arm around him and continuous sound of breathing right next to his ear. His brain grasped the pieces of information he could offer yet didn't try to understand them. His impressions and little discoveries about the situation just hung uselessly in his mind with no connection or context. The Greek moved a little to maybe get a reaction from the person next to him. It wasn't unusual for him to wake up next to a stranger but usually his bedmates weren't of this format. By now he was almost positive that whoever was in his bed was male. He groaned inwardly. If Antonio had pulled a prank on him he'd castrate that damn Spaniard!
The body next to him was warm, almost too warm, and it didn't respond to Heracles' hesitant attempts of retreat. He was greatly confused; his memories weren't really helpful for all they could offer were some disturbing images of nightmares. Monsters had grabbed at him and torn at his flesh. He remembered the shadows growing around him until he was caught in darkness. He had been so absolutely, so entirely afraid. He had felt loving touches and hateful claws on his body. And every once in a while Adnan's face would appear among the monsters but not join their ranks. The darkest of all creatures in his life, the demon who had hunted him for years, was now his savior. In his dream Sadiq had pulled him away from the taunting voices and ugly grimaces dancing in his head. He remembered how the Turk had torn him from his torture and wrapped his arms around him protectively like angel wings. In his darkest hour, when he saw his mother burn in the flames of the fire he had caused, when he heard her screams, begging for help he couldn't bring her, when his heart broke again and again, when he faced every single monster of his past, Sadiq had been there with him. The idea was so grotesque that he didn't even question it. Only his twisted, sadistic mind could have come up with such a dream to torture him with at night. After another couple of minutes he decided to open his eyes. And then he found himself in the arms of the last person he would have thought possible. Sadiq Adnan was it who had his arm around him in a protective fashion and pressed him against his body as though to make sure he wouldn't go away. Heracles widened his eyes in shock and disbelief. Then he shoved the Turk off the mattress. His mind, even though not yet completely functioning, was still well enough to understand that this was wrong. An impossibility. How the hell did they end up in one bed?! And in this position! He couldn't explain it to himself and he didn't want to either.
Sadiq fell to the floor, hitting the back of his head on the counter in the process. He groaned and then cursed, still half-asleep. "What the fuck…?" He muttered angrily and sat up again. When he saw Heracles on the bed, staring at him with accusing and hateful eyes, his shoulders relaxed and his expression went blank. "Oh." Was all he said.
Oh?
Oh?!
"How dare you filthy dog touch me!" The Greek roared, instantly hissing when his headache protested against the noise.
"Fuck you, too." Sadiq snarled as he got to his feet. "You wanted me to, okay?" He barked. "Well, not like that." He hurried to add when he saw Heracles' face. He wasn't sure what expression he was wearing but it must have been scary enough to make the Turk retreat. That gave him a small feeling of superiority.
"Do you remember anything from last night?" He asked him then, eyes narrowed. So he had missed something. He knew there was a huge chunk of his memories missing. Instead there was that long, horrid nightmare, starring Sadiq. He shuddered and quickly shook his head, suspicion clear to see in his eyes.
"Look at your arms." The other instructed curtly. As he did so he saw the big black and blue bruises on his forearm right were his veins were. Small plasters covered their centers. "What the…?" He stared blankly at his arms.
"Ivan took you with him, remember that?" Sadiq growled. Heracles blinked.
Yes. Yes, he remembered.
He had been walking down a hallway with him. They had been in a dark room and he had been offered vodka. They had talked about stuff… Pain pierced his head again, as though it was refusing to let this memory back inside. He held his forehead and nodded quickly.
"No fucking idea what went down after he brought you away but when ya came back you were a total wreck. It was fucking creepy. I thought I'd have to exorcise your ass." The Turk complained but the way he shook his head clearly showed how worried he had been. Or at least he hadn't completely indifferent. It was oddly touching to see his sworn enemy care for him. But Sadiq had always been the more emotional of them; often at others' expense.
"You brought me to bed?" He asked, unhappy with how that question came out. The other snorted. "Yeah. And ya didn't want me to leave again so I stayed."
"Yeah, right." The Greek barked a laugh at the idea. Instead of a snide remark or condescending chuckle Sadiq just looked at him in heavy silence. Heracles stared back at him, "What is it?"
"We need to talk." He said. The words sounded so intimate and careful, so completely unlike everything the man had ever uttered in his presence, that the Greek leaned away a bit. Heracles frowned. "About?"
"You understand what is happening here, right? They're using us as guinea pigs. We've become lab rats in some fucked up social-scientific experiment." Sadiq's voice was grave and dark, it sounded like it came from inside a tomb.
"Yes, I know." He answered slowly, rubbing his bruised arm a little.  "Old news."
"Heracles," The Greek looked up when the other said his name in a husky tone. "We need to survive this shit. You and I. Either both of us live or none of us will. You get that?"
He gazed at the man with a blank face, nodding once to show he understood. Ivan had said something similar to that.
"We gotta stick together for now. The Russian will come back and probably he'll come for me next time. When I return… Help me." It wasn't an order even though Heracles was convinced he had tried to make it sound like one. He couldn't expect anything from the Greek and he knew it.
"When you came back they had to drag you in because you couldn't walk anymore." He continued. "You weren't yourself. You cried and screamed and all that shit." He leaned closer. "I have no idea what Ivan did to you… But you gotta understand what he is capable of. We need to stay sane, okay? It's important."
There were a lot of comments he could have made but he bit his tongue. This wasn't the time or place.
"You know that I hate you, right? If I could I'd leave you here and walk away." Heracles said, as though to remind him who he was talking to. The Turk's expression remained the same except for the light twitch of the corner of his mouth. His answer was firm and delivered with a smile.
"Yes, I know. I hate you, too."

Description
"Get away from me!"
"I'm not trying to- Hey!"
Sadiq tried to grab the struggling Greek and still his trembling body somehow but all he earned from it was a few kicks and disoriented punches. When he had been returned to their prison he had been nothing but a sobbing wreck. Tears had been streaming down his face, still were, and nervous shivers had shaken his frame. The two men who had brought him in had almost been forced to carry him for he refused to move his legs. The Turk quickly understood that he couldn't. When the Russian's minions tossed Heracles into the room their eyes were on Sadiq and for a short, gut-freezing moment he had been convinced that they would do the same to him now; that they would take him to the dark place Heracles' mind was still trapped in. He couldn't even imagine what had been done to the once so proud and cold man. Now he resembled more a terrified child, scared of absolutely everything. Well, maybe not everything. But scared of him for sure. The Turk slowly approached him again after the Greek had fled into a far corner of the room, hugging himself with his face to the wall. It was the creepiest thing he had ever seen. The man rocked back and forth on, humming to himself with a broken voice, always interrupted by the sound of him crying. Holy fuck, what had they done to him?
"Heracles," Sadiq tried to get his attention but his eyes were practically glued to the wall. "Heracles, can ya hear me?" He asked him, trying to speak as softly as he possibly could. The other didn't respond to him, he just hummed louder. Apparently he didn't want to interact with him. A mean, spiteful part of him was about to turn away again. If he didn't want to talk to him, fine! But at the same time he saw this pile of sobbing nothingness that once had been such a strong, self-confident man. He felt as though he needed to protect him, a left-over from his time as his caretaker. He truly just seemed like a child. Sadiq's expression softened a little as pity swept over him. "You need to tell me what happened. Did he hurt you?" He tried to lure some words out of the Greek. There was another reason why he had to get Heracles to tell him what had happened. He knew he would be next and he didn't want to end up like him. So he needed to be prepared for something that was able to reduce his old charge and enemy to… this. Heracles had ceased moving and didn't make a sound. Sadiq saw his chance and slowly put a hand on his shoulder. The man flinched away brutally, almost jumping against the other wall.
"Calm down!" The Turk held up his hands, showing him that he was unarmed. He felt like he was encountering a cornered wild animal. "I won't hurt you. I won't touch you, okay? You're safe. Everything's fine."
"Everything's fine…" The Greek echoed hollowly, apparently without grasping the meaning of those words.
"Yes. Yes, everything's fine." Of course it wasn't. It was far from fine. It was just one of those lies adults told to children to make them feel better. It worked. Heracles slowly relaxed his shoulders and then his arms and eventually turned his head around, gazing at him. He had never seen such an expression before. His eyes were widened but empty, his mouth relaxed but the teeth behind his lips were clenched tightly as though he was in great pain. He was ashen-faced, too. He looked as though he was sick. "Heracles, did he hurt you?" He repeated his question with a stern voice.
This time the Greek nodded. Aside from a few bruises on his face and neck he couldn't detect anything, though. Sadiq let his eyes wander again until he noticed his arms. There were more bruises after all. Dark violet spots covered his forearms, blossoming around tiny plasters.
"Fuck" cursed Sadiq and stared at the lost face of Heracles again. "You're on drugs!" No wonder he behaved so weirdly. They must have given him quite the exotic mix to elicit such a strong reaction from him.  At his exclamation the Greek covered his ears, sobbing once more. "No, no, no." Sadiq grabbed his hands and pulled them away from his head. "It's fine. Everything's fine. You're safe." He continued his chants as he slowly pulled the other man up with him. He staggered and stumbled against him. The Turk looked around, contemplating if he could get him over to the bed or if should just settle for the couch. His malicious side snarled that he could just leave the whimpering shadow of a man on the floor where he found him. Surely he wouldn't care. Hell, Heracles wouldn't do anything to help him, either. No, he was better than that; even though this was his enemy. So he dragged Heracles, all of his uncooperative 160 pounds, over to the bedroom. There he let him fall on the mattress where he instantly curled up on the side, shivering as if he was cold despite it being about thirty degrees in here. Or was that just Sadiq? Just when he wanted to leave again, giving the other some time to calm down and get off the drugs, Heracles gave a high needy noise. The Turk stopped in his tracks. Then he heard it again.
"Sadiq…"
The brat was asking for him? Was he already asleep? No. When he took a closer look he saw the dilated blue eyes staring right at him.
"What?" He asked him carefully.
"Don't leave me." Came the whispered reply.
Oh, that guy was just that fucking high, wasn't he?
"You're confused and probably got quite a few hits on your head. Just sleep already." The Turk reached for the door. As soon as he touched the doorknob a shrill cry exploded in his ears. He whirled around to see Heracles sitting straight in his bed, clawing the sides of his head and screaming at the top of his lungs. It sounded as though someone was tearing him apart. The sound shocked him more than anything. Never before had he heard something so disturbingly painful and scared. That was the moment he realized just what was going on. They weren't here to fight each other. They weren't here to kill each other. They weren't here to save their own skin respectively. No matter what had happened in their past and between them… This was so much worse. Ivan had hurt Heracles more than Sadiq could ever dream of. Maybe by means not unlike his own but that wasn't important. The Greek grew silent again, yet his mouth stayed open for another scream to leave it at any time.
"Ah fuck." Sadiq dashed back to his side, kneeling on the mattress after a moment, and grabbed the man's shoulders. Then he pulled him into a tight hug, trying to keep him from falling apart. The Greek in his arms choked painfully but didn't push him away. Trembling and crying as he was, the Turk wouldn't have let him. "Listen to me, boy. Only to me now. We're gonna get through this. We're gonna get outta here and we're gonna live. And then we can go back to hunting each other if we must. It's okay. You're not alone anymore." He murmured solemnly, his fingers threading themselves into his brown locks, damp with sweat. The man who had his face buried in his shoulder stayed silent. Hopefully, he was listening to him and agreeing. Sadiq could tell by the way Heracles' clung to him that he didn't mind. They had hurt each other, betrayed each other, they were so completely destroyed by each other's hands. And suddenly all of it didn't matter anymore. They needed new priorities. They were each other's life insurance. And for fuck's sake, he would protect Heracles as well as he could.
For the better or for the worse.
---------------------------------------------------
"Who are we supposed to meet here anyway?" The Italian muttered under his breath as he trotted after his two companions. Antonio gave him a confident smile as he explained, glancing over his shoulder: "Liz has looked through Adnan's contacts. We compared the lists and found an organization both, Adnan and Senor Karpusi, have stayed in touch with for a while. We hope it is the link we need to find who is behind their disappearance." Every single word the Spaniard uttered was like a punch to his stomach.
Liz.
He called that woman, that beast, that monster and murderer of his brother, Liz. They compared the lists. They hope. Antonio probably didn't even notice how much he hurt him. Or, what would be worse, he didn't care. Who did he think he was?
The trio walked through the entry hall of a luxurious hotel and was shown to the suit in which they were supposed to wait for the other party of this meeting. The room was even more pompous than the hallway and foyer. Little flames flickered in the fire place near the big sofa. Expensive carpets covered the floor, perfectly matching the colors of the furniture. Everything looked so breakable that none of them knew where they were supposed to sit. The clogs in Antonio's hands found a place on the bookshelf next to a small couch where he sat down. The Hungarian woman folded her arms and leaned against the wall not too far away and he sat down next to Spaniard, not letting go of his gun. It took half an hour until the door opened once more and two women entered the room, followed by a man. They were Asian by looks, their hair dark and thick. They were short even for Mediterranean standards. All of them seemed to be in their twenties, too young to run a company of the size Elizaveta had talked about. Or the actual head of it had died and they were the heirs.
"Good day." The man greeted them with a nod. They returned the gesture but stayed silent until the other had taken a seat. Surprisingly the females stayed where they were.
"You have called us because of our clients Adnan and Karpusi." The male, apparently the leader, opened the conversation. Antonio nodded and answered:  "Yes. We wish to know what kind of business you have with them."
"Why should we tell you about it? Despite your last names we know nothing about you." The other said coldly. Their suspicion was justified the Spaniard had to admit.
"We are their co-workers. And to be fair, despite your company's name we know nothing about you either."
"My name is Jiang Lee. This is Mei-Mei and Linh." He pointed at the two women. "Now you know more."
Elizaveta gave a low chuckle at that. "Could we cut the foreplay and get to the juicy bit now? Can you give us the information we need or not?"
"Why should we?" He looked at her as if he was surprised she wasn't a mute; or had the guts to speak up.
"Can you?" She pressed.
"Yes, of course."
"Will you?"
"Depends on what we get in exchange. Adnan and Karpusi are very good customers and partners of great value for us. We would feel very cheap to give them away just like that."
"They have disappeared." Antonio commented. "We need to find them."
The women shared a little glance at that but Antonio didn't seem to notice. "What makes you so certain that they aren't dead?" Mei-Mei, the younger girl, said slowly. Lee shot her a warning glance.
"Their bodies would have turned up somewhere. And besides, our bosses are not the kind that just dies without a grand exit."
"So you have no facts. Only wishful thinking and assumptions." The Chinese man scoffed. Elizaveta answered sharply: "That is why we are here. To change that. Will you cooperate now or do we have turn your little dolls into Swiss cheese first?" The three Asians remained composed, unimpressed by the Hungarian's threat. However, Romano noticed how Lee's eyes twitched to the sides, looking at the women. He leaned forward, resting elbows on his knees as he tented his fingers. "We will give you all information we have if we get something from you in return." He said slowly.
"Which would be?" Antonio' voice dropped an octave. The Chinaman's expression was unreadable when he answered: "Our oldest brother has disappeared as well. Just a few months ago. Help us find him and we'll help you find your friends."
"We aren't friends." Elizaveta and Romano retorted simultaneously before glaring at each other for a moment. No second later the Spaniard nodded, extending his hand. "Deal."
The Italian's glare shifted to him. "Deal?! Stop making deals with every bastard we come across!" He hissed. "You don't know shit about those guys." His reasoning was in vain, though. Lee already had shaken the offered hand.
Lee and Mei-Mei, siblings they later learned, had two older brothers and one younger. Their mothers were never the same, yet they stuck together as any family would. Their father had died ten years ago and since then the eldest, Yao Wang, had taken care of them. Now he had disappeared into thin air, as though swallowed by the ground beneath his feet. He had inherited the company from their father as well as his position among the Triads. It wasn't too surprising that someone like him, even though not too young and inexperienced, would become victim to assassination. Still, his siblings were convinced that he wasn't dead; just as convinced as Antonio and Elizaveta were. The second in ranking, Kiku, had taken over the company and for a good portion of time Lee and their youngest brother, Yong Soo, had been convinced that he had something to do with Yao's disappearance.
"They didn't get along well." Mei-Mei said quietly, talking to Romano and Elizaveta while Antonio, Lee and Linh(a close friend of the family, they assumed) negotiated and talked their next steps through. The alliance was unstable and nowhere near trustworthy, but it was a start. "As soon as Kiku heard about Brother's fate he had claimed his position. I do believe, though, that deep down he is worried as well. He just doesn't want to let Father down by neglecting the company." She explained. "We haven't heard from him in a while now, too, though." The young woman lowered her dark gaze, a perfect picture of grief. She looked so fragile and soft and simply heart-broken that it was hard not to give her a hug.
Romano shook his head, only listening with one ear. He wasn't interested in the intern family structures of this bunch. Not much that was going on lately, ever since he had gone to Turkey, had interested him greatly. It just wasn't his business. He didn't want to fight an epic battle against the archenemy of some guy he worked for. He didn't want to search valleys and hills for that guy either. He didn't care about Karpusi. All he had done was following Antonio. And what had that given him? His brother was dead, he was in an alliance with his murderer and now had to go on a risky rescue mission with no guarantee of success or his survival. If only he had paid more attention in school, he thought. He could have had a house and family by now, maybe a good enough job. But no. Instead he sat in a hotel room in Thessaloniki together with a group of strangers; one more dangerous than the other, and the only person he thought he could trust was betraying him again and again. How was this worth it?
--------------------------------------------------------
When he awoke he thought he was still in Athens, getting rudely torn from sleep by a hangover. Pain pulsed between his temples, threatening to burst his skull in two. His legs and arms hurt as well as his nose and teeth. All in all he was just a bundle of throbbing and aching body parts. A metallic taste filled his mouth and made his stomach churn yet he didn't move. Even though his insides seemed to be in a state of total chaos outside of his body there was warmth and comfort. A soft blanket was wrapped around his body and his head rested on a cool pillow which helped to soothe his headache. The next thing he noticed was the weight of and arm around him and continuous sound of breathing right next to his ear. His brain grasped the pieces of information he could offer yet didn't try to understand them. His impressions and little discoveries about the situation just hung uselessly in his mind with no connection or context. The Greek moved a little to maybe get a reaction from the person next to him. It wasn't unusual for him to wake up next to a stranger but usually his bedmates weren't of this format. By now he was almost positive that whoever was in his bed was male. He groaned inwardly. If Antonio had pulled a prank on him he'd castrate that damn Spaniard!
The body next to him was warm, almost too warm, and it didn't respond to Heracles' hesitant attempts of retreat. He was greatly confused; his memories weren't really helpful for all they could offer were some disturbing images of nightmares. Monsters had grabbed at him and torn at his flesh. He remembered the shadows growing around him until he was caught in darkness. He had been so absolutely, so entirely afraid. He had felt loving touches and hateful claws on his body. And every once in a while Adnan's face would appear among the monsters but not join their ranks. The darkest of all creatures in his life, the demon who had hunted him for years, was now his savior. In his dream Sadiq had pulled him away from the taunting voices and ugly grimaces dancing in his head. He remembered how the Turk had torn him from his torture and wrapped his arms around him protectively like angel wings. In his darkest hour, when he saw his mother burn in the flames of the fire he had caused, when he heard her screams, begging for help he couldn't bring her, when his heart broke again and again, when he faced every single monster of his past, Sadiq had been there with him. The idea was so grotesque that he didn't even question it. Only his twisted, sadistic mind could have come up with such a dream to torture him with at night. After another couple of minutes he decided to open his eyes. And then he found himself in the arms of the last person he would have thought possible. Sadiq Adnan was it who had his arm around him in a protective fashion and pressed him against his body as though to make sure he wouldn't go away. Heracles widened his eyes in shock and disbelief. Then he shoved the Turk off the mattress. His mind, even though not yet completely functioning, was still well enough to understand that this was wrong. An impossibility. How the hell did they end up in one bed?! And in this position! He couldn't explain it to himself and he didn't want to either.
Sadiq fell to the floor, hitting the back of his head on the counter in the process. He groaned and then cursed, still half-asleep. "What the fuck…?" He muttered angrily and sat up again. When he saw Heracles on the bed, staring at him with accusing and hateful eyes, his shoulders relaxed and his expression went blank. "Oh." Was all he said.
Oh?
Oh?!
"How dare you filthy dog touch me!" The Greek roared, instantly hissing when his headache protested against the noise.
"Fuck you, too." Sadiq snarled as he got to his feet. "You wanted me to, okay?" He barked. "Well, not like that." He hurried to add when he saw Heracles' face. He wasn't sure what expression he was wearing but it must have been scary enough to make the Turk retreat. That gave him a small feeling of superiority.
"Do you remember anything from last night?" He asked him then, eyes narrowed. So he had missed something. He knew there was a huge chunk of his memories missing. Instead there was that long, horrid nightmare, starring Sadiq. He shuddered and quickly shook his head, suspicion clear to see in his eyes.
"Look at your arms." The other instructed curtly. As he did so he saw the big black and blue bruises on his forearm right were his veins were. Small plasters covered their centers. "What the…?" He stared blankly at his arms.
"Ivan took you with him, remember that?" Sadiq growled. Heracles blinked.
Yes. Yes, he remembered.
He had been walking down a hallway with him. They had been in a dark room and he had been offered vodka. They had talked about stuff… Pain pierced his head again, as though it was refusing to let this memory back inside. He held his forehead and nodded quickly.
"No fucking idea what went down after he brought you away but when ya came back you were a total wreck. It was fucking creepy. I thought I'd have to exorcise your ass." The Turk complained but the way he shook his head clearly showed how worried he had been. Or at least he hadn't completely indifferent. It was oddly touching to see his sworn enemy care for him. But Sadiq had always been the more emotional of them; often at others' expense.
"You brought me to bed?" He asked, unhappy with how that question came out. The other snorted. "Yeah. And ya didn't want me to leave again so I stayed."
"Yeah, right." The Greek barked a laugh at the idea. Instead of a snide remark or condescending chuckle Sadiq just looked at him in heavy silence. Heracles stared back at him, "What is it?"
"We need to talk." He said. The words sounded so intimate and careful, so completely unlike everything the man had ever uttered in his presence, that the Greek leaned away a bit. Heracles frowned. "About?"
"You understand what is happening here, right? They're using us as guinea pigs. We've become lab rats in some fucked up social-scientific experiment." Sadiq's voice was grave and dark, it sounded like it came from inside a tomb.
"Yes, I know." He answered slowly, rubbing his bruised arm a little.  "Old news."
"Heracles," The Greek looked up when the other said his name in a husky tone. "We need to survive this shit. You and I. Either both of us live or none of us will. You get that?"
He gazed at the man with a blank face, nodding once to show he understood. Ivan had said something similar to that.
"We gotta stick together for now. The Russian will come back and probably he'll come for me next time. When I return… Help me." It wasn't an order even though Heracles was convinced he had tried to make it sound like one. He couldn't expect anything from the Greek and he knew it.
"When you came back they had to drag you in because you couldn't walk anymore." He continued. "You weren't yourself. You cried and screamed and all that shit." He leaned closer. "I have no idea what Ivan did to you… But you gotta understand what he is capable of. We need to stay sane, okay? It's important."
There were a lot of comments he could have made but he bit his tongue. This wasn't the time or place.
"You know that I hate you, right? If I could I'd leave you here and walk away." Heracles said, as though to remind him who he was talking to. The Turk's expression remained the same except for the light twitch of the corner of his mouth. His answer was firm and delivered with a smile.
"Yes, I know. I hate you, too."