When Adamsen arrived, Tom felt it. He was consumed by a cold, icy fear. He waited for Adamsen to open the cage to look at him.

"Tom, ya wanna shower, eat or stretch? After we get everything done I got something for ya. And look what I got." He says, showing him the stack of letters as he opens the cage. "Mail, for me but I'll share. I'll explain it all to you later." Adamsen was talking brightly and a little too fast. Whatever he was afraid of it wasn't Tom, it was something else.

"Exercise first."

As he watches Tom exercise he asks. "Tom, what is that tattoo on your shoulder?"

"I don't really know. All I know about it is I got it when I was very young. What about yours?" Adamsen rubs his shoulder. "Who's 'Johnny'?"

Adamsen laughs. "I have no freakin' idea. I woke up in the back yard one morning when I was almost 15. Pop was drinkin' and so was I. I had a blackout and woke up with it. I didn't stop drinkin' but I didn't drink so much that I had another blackout."

Tom took the towel he threw at him. "Then why drink?"

"Because if you're drunk it don't hurt so much. It dulls the pain. Some people say it makes the pain worse. For me it took the edge off. It didn't cut so bad. I never got to the point that I was cutting myself up; I did bad enough with Jack Daniels and Johnny Walker. Grandpa dried me out and got me back in school. If I hadn't had him I woulda ended up in a gutter somewhere. Sometimes I wish I had.

Tom paused and looked at him. "What do you mean 'cutting yourself up'?"

"Tom, sometimes when people hurt they cut themselves, with a razor blade or knife, because that hurts less than the pain inside. I never got that bad but I got pretty close. Come on, Tom, we can find something better to talk about."

Tom knew he didn't want to talk about it any more. Almost any memory of that time, it seemed, was painful. "I'll shower and then we eat. Now tell me about those letters.

Adamsen laughs. "I decided to put an ad in the local paper. Looking for a long distance relationship. Give me something to do. Now I didn't know I was gonna be too busy for that. I got a few letters, but I think they're mostly jailbait. Not something I wanna be involved in."

As Tom showers he asks, "What's jailbait?"

"Slang for an underage girl. A fifteen-year-old may look great and appear to be older but you'll land your ass in jail. That is definitely a case for look but don't touch.

"Physically Dominants may breed at the age of 10 or thereabouts. But I don't know if this happens often. But it must at least occasionally."

"Well, I'm sure you know the law says 18 is the legal age. Physically for humans I guess it's about 13 or so but that is just a guess."

Tom dries and dresses. He drapes his arm around Adamsen's shoulder as they go for their brunch. "Hey, look Tom, Pizza. I hope you like pepperoni. Cause that's what I got. Sometimes they got junk food. I figure it won't kill you to have something fun once in a while.

"Okay, what's such a big secret."

"Eat first and then I'll tell."

They eat in silence with Adamsen putting on a front. Tom knows he's afraid of something, but nothing they have talked about has raised a twinge about it.

"Okay, the secret?

"Close your eyes." Adamsen grins.

"Very well."

He sits there with his eyes shut and listens to Adamsen put the trays away he hears something being pulled from the cart. He feels something draped over his shoulders. "For you"

He looks at what he has on him. "Adamsen, what is this?"

"It's a quilt. As a matter of fact, it's a bowtie quilt. Momma made it for me before she died. I figure you need her watching over you more than I do. Momma made it with a dark background because she said boys always make a mess. But she left the lining white. Every bowtie is different and there are almost 200, all six-inch squares. Tom, it's ok. I mean you do like it, don't ya?"

Tom looks at the bright colored squares marching over the dark background and doesn't know what to think. He can't refuse it but this is something that Adamsen needs to keep. "Adamsen, I'll keep it until you ask for it back. It's something you need to keep."

Adamsen looks at him. He'd been afraid Tom might not want it. "Tom, I promise if I ever want it back I'll ask. It always made me feel like Momma was watchin' me. I hoped it'd help you too. Do ya wanna see the letters?"

They spent the rest of the afternoon looking at the short stack of letters that Adamsen had with him. After much discussion back and forth they reluctantly came to the conclusion that most of them were trouble. Adamsen had two that he could reply to, in relative safety. By this time Adamsen was yawning. "Tom, let's have supper. I was up at 2AM, "he glances at his watch. "it's now 6PM. I'm short on sleep. Let's have supper and I'm gonna sleep."

Tom agrees. They eat a light supper tonight. Adamsen can't eat much from worry and fear and Tom because of the reflection of it in himself.

Tom starts awake. His danger sense alerted him. A man with a rifle. Where? He rolls off his mattress and looks around. Darkness except for the cage. He changes his vision to see, at the door, there he is. Uhhh. He grunts as the dart hits his thigh. He grabs it and pulls it out. He feels the world fall away.

Adamsen is soundly sleeping soundly when they come for him. He is dragged out of his bed and to Tom's prison. He sees Tom unconscious in the cage and he knows it has begun. He remains silent as they chain him up and cut off his clothes. The less response he gives them the better. He sees Tom being injected with some drug and then feels the first shock. He yelps then clenches his teeth. Determined that that will be the last sound they hear him make.

His body reacts to each touch of the rod. His body arches and reacts. He bites himself to stop the screams. He knows they will come eventually. His bladder and bowels let go and he curses himself. He wishes he had more control. He can’t breath. His breath comes in gasps because of his ribs. He feels icy water sluicing over him and the floor. They want the contact to be better. He has to stay awake 'til Tom awakens. He shakes his head and prepares for another shock. He knows that if he pushes their buttons, they'll kill him. Right now that's starting to look real good.

When he awakens he is in the cage with the light above him. He recognizes the feel. His head pounds. He examines the way he feels. They've given him the antidote to the drug. He can feel its effects. They want him awake now. He captures the pain he feels and pushes it far enough aside so that he can concentrate on his surroundings. He inhales the acrid scent of urine and feces as well as sweat and fear. Adamsen's fear. He lowered his shields slightly. He feels his fear now, but it is mostly over ridden by a sharp and burning raw pain. He shakes his head and rubs his hands over of his face. He sits up and looks around him. A man in a lab coat comes towards him. "Well, you have awakened. Our employer wants you to do something. We thought we would have more time to make you tractable. Your young friend has been providing some entertainment for some of the men. The sooner you cooperate the sooner this can end.'

He sees behind the man. Adamsen chained spread eagle between the ceiling and the floor, nude, under a light just as his cage is. He looks at Adamsen closely, the bandage is off of his ribs and he sees several fresh burn marks on his body. His hair is wet, as is his body. There is water puddled on the floor beneath him. They've been wetting him down. He hears the gasping of his breath as he tries to breathe. Blood trickles from his mouth from where he has bitten himself to stop from screaming.

"Tom, give them nothing. Do you hear, nothing."

"Shut him up."

A metal prod comes from the darkness and touches his body. His spine arches and he screams silently, never giving his torturers the satisfaction of hearing his pain. It seems that is not enough. The wielder starts to run it over his body leaving a line of burns behind it. "Enough, don't kill him, yet."

"Tom, give them nothing." Shock. "Not a word." Shock. "No matter what." Shock. "No matter how" Shock "much I beg," Shock. "Or scream" Shock.

Adamsen is pushing them. Hoping he'll pass out. Tom lets his face go blank. He will betray nothing. The only thing he does, is let his eyes glitter with hate. They think the darkness hides them. Tom examines the people in the shadows. Two, no, three scientists in the familiar lab coats, and four guards, two with shock sticks of some kind. Cattle prods, Adamsen had said, well perhaps. These appeared to be adjustable for the power they had. A cattle prod would most likely have killed him by now.

Tom pulls his legs under him and sits. With his hands at his sides he will watch and remember. Nothing will be forgotten. Soon the screaming will start and he will sit and watch and listen and remember. They are being careful right now, concentrating on his extremities. Soon they will move on to his genitals and chest but not too soon because they could stop his heart. They want him alive. The longer Adamsen lives the more chance they have of making Tom cooperate. At the moment, Tom is very glad they think Sloan is dead, else it would be her up there and he would be begging to do what ever they wanted.

His predictions prove true. Soon they increase the power of the shocks, and the burns grow larger and more ugly. Adamsen is screaming now and they wet him down after every two or three shocks to wake him up again. The man in the coat asks Tom occasionally if he wants it to stop. Tom ignores him and watches his friend. He lets his anger and hate grow and carefully feeds it. His time sense tells him this has gone on for several hours; but it has felt like days.

Soon he passes out and even the cold water won't revive him. "We'll let you watch your friend. We'll come back when he's awake. Then we start again."

Tom sits without moving until he hears Adamsen groan. "Adamsen, listen to me." His voice is deep and commanding, "You will hear me and only me." Tom is not worried about the watchers. There is little they can do about it anyway. "Adamsen, you will gather up the pain" he groans again. "Adamsen, you will gather up the pain."

"Yes, Tom"

"Adamsen, you will gather up the pain. What will you do?"

Adamsen is still unconscious but is responding to the command. "I will gather up the pain."

Good it was working, Tom didn't know if it would. "Adamsen, you will gather up the pain and enclose it. It can not harm you. It is nothing."

"It is nothing"

"Adamsen, you will gather up the pain and enclose it. It can not harm you. It is nothing."

"It is nothing"

"Adamsen, sleep"

He sees Adamsen sag in the chains. If his body rests perhaps he will hold out longer. Tom waits.

He hears Adamsen groan. "Tom, what happened?"

"I don't know. They want something from me, and you are the carrot."

"And the cattle prods are the stick. I never heard of using the stick on the carrot. Did I beg? I will eventually. Don't give them anything, Tom. Not even when I beg. Tom, I'm not worth it. I'm not worth any of it."

"Not yet and I won't. Not even then. They'll be coming back soon. How do you feel?"

"Better I think. How come I don't hurt as bad as I did?

"I gave you a suggestion that you don't feel the pain. It will only work for a short time. It's probably leaking as we speak'

"Yeah, but it's not as bad as it was."

"Adamsen, if you wish I can put you out and you will feel nothing."

"No, if you do they'll just kill me and that won't help us with the time factor."

"Adamsen, what time factor? Our time has run out."

Adamsen coughs up blood and spits. "Nah, it's just beginning. I might as well tell you, now. I sent information off to someone about you. I can only hope it was someone who will help."

Tom feels something in the back of his mind. It's Sloan and she is coming closer. He doesn't want her to be in danger. He must have gotten the information to Sloan but he doesn't know how.

"Don't worry. Right now we have to concentrate on how to get out of this alive.

"Tom, if the chance comes, go for it. Don't worry about me. Just let me die."

Tom concludes this comes from the pain he is in. If there is a chance, he will get both of them out.

Without warning the lights go out, and Tom makes his move. The weak weld in the cage snaps like a rifle shot under the strength he exerts upon it. He bends the bar open enough for him to wriggle through the bars. The chains holding Adamsen are only meant to hold humans, so he snaps them easily. As he eases his friend down, Adamsen says, "If your gonna take me, get the quilt. I don't want those bastards to have it."

Tom realizes it will be faster to do it, than to argue. He grabs the quilt from his cage and wraps it around him. "Come on, we've got to get out of here." Tom helps support him as a rumble goes through the complex. Tom kicks the doors open and goes out into the hall. The guards are gone. Emergency lights weakly light the hallway. As Tom turns to follow the guards, Adamsen says "No, my quarters, weapons."

Tom nods and takes him there. Adamsen pulls the weapon case out from under his bed and opens it. "Here, take what you want." Even in the dark Adamsen knows where everything is. He pulls on pants and a shirt. The blocking must be helping, because he is moving painfully but fairly swiftly. Tom takes the 9mm and hands Adamsen 2 extra clips then he jacks a round in the chamber. Adamsen takes his rifle and loads. He also puts 2 extra clips in a pocket.

"Tom wear this." He flips the quilt around and lets the white lining show to the outside. "You'll look like one of the lab coats and I'll be your escort."

Tom nods, protective cover.

"This way Tom. Smell the smoke. They must be using smoke bombs to get troops in. It's the 5^th or 6^th door down from here. There is a stair going down. It's a back door. Not on the general maps. I found it when I got here. I used to work as a file clerk. Then they made me a guard. Can you open it, Tom."

Tom wrenches the door open and sees darkness. "Let's try the next one."

They go to the next door. Tom feels very tired but is able to open it. It opens to a sickly pale yellow light and a stairwell. "Good! We go down Tom, that's the way out." By now they are both sagging against each other for support. Tom doesn't understand why his feet feel like lead and he's having trouble thinking.

"Adamsen, stop. I hear someone coming." They stop in a corner of the stairwell and sit. Neither of them has the strength to stand. Tom had almost passed out when he sees a familiar face beneath a gas mask "No, Adamsen. It's Walter. He's a friend. Walter, a friend" he says as he pats Adamsen's shoulder and passes out

"Mark; give him the antidote, we'll need his help." Adamsen feels the sharp bite of a needle in his arm. One of the black clad troops picks Tom up as if he were a child. Adamsen reaches over and wraps the quilt around his friend and says softly in a voice only the dominants hear. "Momma, watch over Tom. He's my friend." He picks up the 9mm that has dropped out of Tom's hand.

"Let's go." Adamsen says, leading them up the stairs. "Do you know where most of them are?"

"We have your map. I'm assuming that it was you who gave us the information leading to this place."

"Yeah, 'Sloan. I love you. I want to be with you. Tom.' I suggest you blow any rooms that have prisoners after you get them out, if you got explosives. I got something to show you." Suddenly he felt great. His ribs only hurt a little and he could not even feel the burns on his body.

He races down the hall, most of the black clad troops peeling off to their separate missions. He's left with 3 black clad troops and the man in the suit. They come to a stop in front of a steel wall with only one door in it. "Blow this. I don't know what's in here but a lot of people in lab coats come in and out. I think something important's in here."

When they get in the room they see a blond man on a hospital bed held down with metal straps. There are IV tubes in each arm and blood cleaning tubes coming from his legs. Computers and other equipment line the walls. He hears someone say "Lewis"

Adamsen lets them be concerned with the man in the bed. He concerns himself with all the data. He stuffs CD's and 3 1/2 discs in his pockets until he can carry no more. Then he grabs a can of alcohol and starts to pour it over everything. There are three cans here. He uses them all. He soaks everything he can, and throws all the papers in a pile with it. They get the man out, and he hears someone call him to leave. He finds some matches on one of the desks, probably for some lab rat. He lights the papers and watches them burn, then leaves.

He follows the black clad troops when he hears a rifle shot echo down the hall

"You got any more explosives?"

They nod.

"I'll give you cover fire and you set them to blow the hallway. It'll cut them off from following us." He drops to the floor and starts peppering the far hallway, firing from a prone position. He can give plenty of cover and not be a target himself.

They finish laying charges around the hallway. "On our mark 5 second delay 3-2-1-mark. Adamsen counts 1-2-3 and gets up to run. As he turns, he feels a white hot burning in his shoulder. He goes down in a daze as he feels himself jerked up. He hears a low rumble. Darkness claims him.