Justin listened to what Ashraf, (whatever the fuck his name was), had to say. "You are a prisoner of war. We are aware that you and the lieutenant were on an important mission. We want to know what it was, and we want to know the location of your troops." "You can choose to cooperate, and thus be given food, a comfortable bed, and any other privileges available. Or you can choose to be foolish. But I must warn you, there will be dire consequences."
Justin was tempted to ask him to further define what he meant by consequences, but the way he said it left little doubt in his mind. He knew that they would probably be killed. But right now, they had some time. They were worth more to their captors alive, because the knowledge they held was of great value. Just then, Justin heard a familiar voice cursing vehemently in English. When he angled his body to look towards the ruckus, he saw Brian. He was being unceremoniously hauled into the room by two soldiers. They harshly deposited him on the floor next to Justin.
When Brian looked up, he was relieved to see that the kid was okay, at least for now. Brian felt a little light headed from the blood loss from his wound, but other than that, he was alright. He laid eyes on who he thought must be the head honcho, and then took note of the ugly fucker staring at him. "Lieutenant Kinney, how good of you to grace us with your presence. I was just explaining to your young friend here the advantages of cooperating with us. I would recommend the same for you."
Brian glared right at him and said "Fuck off!" Ashraf laughed, and cautioned, "I already foresee that you're not going to make this easy on yourself lieutenant." He motioned to the guards, who grabbed Brian and held him. Ashraf delivered a swift forceful uppercut to his stomach. Brian doubled over in pain, but was supported by the two men. The commander barked an order, and another guard retrieved a chair, placing it behind Brian. They pushed him down, and tied his hands in back of him with a cord.
Justin watched the scene unfold, feeling absolutely helpless. Ashraf went over to Brian and dug his fingers into Brian's wound, making him cry out in pain, "UUUUrgh!" Justin yelled, "Stop it, you're hurting him." He started to rise, when the guard next to him viciously kicked him in the face, causing him to keel over. He could feel the left side of his face swelling, and tasted the metal tinge of blood inside his mouth.
As he lay there panting, the interrogator goaded him, "If you want to save your lieutenant, as well as yourself from more unpleasantness, you will tell us what we want to know." Justin looked at Brian with regretful eyes. Brian tried to give him an encouraging smile, but grimaced instead, because he was still in a great deal of pain. "Well Sergeant?", Ashraf questioned, waiting for an answer.
Justin disengaged eye contact with Brian, and managed to pull himself to a sitting position, before defiantly stating, "No, I don't have a fucking thing to say. Especially not to you."
Ashraf related Justin's words to the commander, who promptly spewed something in Arabic. The interrogator's lips curled upward into a wicked smile. He loved his job, and he was good at it. The man had to admit, that he was secretly pleased the two brazen American soldiers were going to put up a fight. The commander, who seemed quite perturbed at this point, let out a huff and retired to his quarters, leaving his sadistic comrade in charge.
Justin was roughly pulled to his feet, and restrained by a guard on either side of him. Ashraf squawked directives in his native language. Justin was then led outside to a flogging post. Brian was coerced to follow, while being poked and prodded along by his captors. He felt the bile rise up in his throat, as he observed the young sergeant being positioned to hug the post. Brian didn't think he would be able to watch anyone inflicting pain on the kid, especially that sick fuck. He tried to provoke the man, calling him any insulting name he could think of. However, Brian's attempts to shift the focus onto himself failed, and he mentally braced himself for what would happen next.
Ashraf seemed to delight in carrying out Justin's punishment. One of the soldiers had produced a whip, and he fondled it like it was an old friend. Justin closed his eyes, as he tried to escape in his mind to someplace else. He flinched, when the first crack of the whip sliced through his uniform, causing a burning sensation. Justin let out a startled gasp, but soon calmed when he heard Brian's reassuring voice. The stinging from the lashes that ensued, caused Justin's back to become numb, and he began to feel woozy.
Brian was infuriated at the twisted bastard, who appeared to actually enjoy using the whip to administer successive lashes to the kid. Since he couldn't trade places with Justin, he tried to comfort the kid with words. Maybe if Justin concentrated on what he was saying, he could disassociate himself from the pain. Hell, Brian thought, it was worth a try. Brian despised that man, and was relieved when he finally stopped. His relief quickly turned to concern, when he witnessed Justin sliding down the post, and sinking to the ground. Shit!