[Rainbowfox Ari]

"Just hold him still, unless you know how to give an injection." Ronin snapped, setting the syringe down on a tray devoid of anything else on the cart nearby, and pulling on some latex gloves. "I'm not too drunk to treat an addict. I'm guessing he has 'uppers' in his system, which is pushing his heart rate through the roof. Once this sedative takes effect, it'll calm him down enough for the stuff to run out of his system. Not an ideal setup - if I were in a better place, I'd filter his blood. And maybe a touch on the dangerous side, but if he's this high and his heart rate keeps climbing, any method is going to be dangerous." Even though he was drunk, Ronin spoke with a surety that defied his appearance. He did, apparently, know exactly what he was doing. "If we don't slow his heart rate, he has a good chance of going into cardiac arrest, and I have neither the drugs, nor the equipment, to bring him back from something like that. So either you hold him still and let me inject him, do it yourself, or go outside and grab a shovel to start digging his grave."

Not really giving Jadyr a chance to argue either way, he picked up the syringe, checked it for air bubbles, tapping it to make sure there really were none, and leaned down to grab Jonah's arm - the latter so rabbit-sees-wolf scared that he made no attempt to get away, to move, or to even breathe too hard.

"Look, kid. Relax. I'm good with a needle. This isn't going to hurt as much as you think it is. If you relax, I can find a vein easier, and.... Ah hell. What am I saying? You're too high to care at the moment. Sorry, kid."

He ran his finger down Jonah's arm, and found a nice plump vein, pressing on it to make sure it wasn't going to roll away from him. This stuff had to be injected into the bloodstream, or else it wasn't going to do any good. Thus, he had to get the stick the first time. Which he did, surprisingly. It didn't take long. Ronin would have preferred to give the kid an IV, but they didn't have any extra tubing, and most of the bags were in freezer-storage, and would take too long to thaw out. This was a painful way to inject, and Ronin mentally apologized for it, even as the medication started to work.

Jonah went from feeling pain, fear, and anxiety... to pretty much feeling nothing at all. Then it all went away, as he slumped in Jadyr's arms, head resting on his shoulder, relaxing by degrees. The boy was out, and out good.

[zapdragon555]

"Addict?" Jadyr echoed, his brows knitting together before they tilted in indignant defensiveness. "Hey! You don't fucking know him--" Jadyr barely had any time to talk when suddenly the needle was being plunged into Jonah's arm, and he had to bite back a sharp curse to prevent himself from instinctively shoving the doctor away. Instead he held Jonah, glancing away from the needle and just staring at the top of Jonah's head, his own breathing a little elevated from the whole situation.

An addict. The pills he'd taken in the club--Jadyr felt a small winding breath wheeze out of his nose as he sighed and rubbed Jonah's shoulder brusquely, murmuring a string of half-encouraging, half-deprecating nothings into Jonah's ear as he watched Ronin's face, until the deed was finally done. He felt Jonah slump in his arms, and a small panic rushed through him as he brought his hand up to press into the boy's throat, relieved to find a pulse. Alright. So whatever was in the syringe worked, it seemed.

"Alright," he murmured, cupping the back of Jonah's neck to hold the boy in place, a relieved expression softening his eyes until he looked up at Ronin once more, his expression haggard. "So what now? You said he had drugs in his system? I just met the guy recently... we've been through some shit. Glad you were out here, man. Thanks."

[Rainbowfox Ari]

"Mmmhmmm." Ronin barely acknowledged Jadyr's compliment. "What I just did to him is going to send him into arrhythmia. Think about it. He's got drugs that increase his heart rate in his system, and I just gave him shit to lower it. It's going to be a while before his heart gets the message, and stops being confused. Thankfully, if it does get too bad, I do have a defib unit in the other room, but the dose I gave him was low, so hopefully the uppers will wear off before too long. He won't be out more than a couple of hours." He took Jonah from Jad's arms - carefully - and deposited him back on the exam table, bringing a blanket over from the other side of the room, and draping it over him casually, pulling it up to his shoulders. "It should be alright, so long as we keep track. My monitors are busted, so it'll have to be the old fashioned way. Which means you're going to be seeing a lot of me tonight."

He leaned back against the wall, and gave Jadyr a no-nonsense glare. Seemed that the alcohol was starting to leave his system, or the adrenaline was burning through it... Or maybe there was another reason. Whatever the case, the man seemed less drunk and more professional right now. Oh, and he wasn't in the least bit happy with the intrusion, the situation, or the fact that he had two strangers in his house. "Alright, so talk. Tell me who you two are, what you're doing ass-deep in the forest, and what the hell kind of shit you've gotten yourselves into. So I can figure out whether I need to bother the cops or not. I'm a patient man, but there's only so much bullshit I can tolerate, and because of my parents, I CAN tell when you're lying. So spill. And if you lie to me, you'll be in cuffs so quickly your head will be spinning for weeks."

[zapdragon555]

Arrhythmia, uppers, broken monitors and defib units--all of these ideas and concepts buzzed around Jadyr's exhausted mind, some he understood and some he hadn't a clue about. He watched as Ronin laid Jonah down on the table and covered him up, and Jadyr peered at the boy's face, noting how small he looked under the covers. He leaned an elbow on the table, nodding. It was good they had a doctor who knew what he was doing, half-drunk or not. By the sound of things, though, he looked to be sobering up. The grumpiness was a tell-all. "Goody," he said in response to the doctor's promise--threat?--to be around a lot that night. His voice held a good humor to it, despite everything, though.

Jadyr straightened up stiff at the sudden questions, however, gripping the corner of the blanket and thumbing it between his fingers. Right. This guy actually seemed pretty intimidating. Jadyr's expression grew stony once more, and he nodded his head once. Fake names, fake story, tell the truth about Emille, go.

"I'm Jamal, that guy over there's named Ricky, though for some reason I'm pretty sure that ain't his name. I was in a club back in the city, when I blacked out and woke up in some abandoned warehouse type deal about an hour's walk from here. Some freakshow that called himself 'Emille' had me tied up, along with Ricky over there, who looked like he was going through some shit anyway. Didn't realize it was drug stuff. Ricky had a knife and we managed to get out without Emille noticing, and we walked until we found this place."

He paused, blinking, then smirked and shrugged. "Well, I walked. He held on."

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Ronin sighed, and rolled his eyes. "I just told you NOT to lie to me." he said, crossing his arms. "Now, what are your real names? And which direction did you walk from? If there's a kidnapper out here, I'm sure the cops are going to want to know about it." He pulled over a chair from the other side of the room, turned it around, and sat down on it, arms crossed over the back as he watched the boy over them. "Real names, real story. At least some of that was the truth, but not all. If I'm going to help you, I need to know the truth. Well, that and I really don't fancy the idea of some deranged psycho-killer coming for you in the middle of the night, and me being unaware." His fingers tapped a bit on the chair-back. "So try that again. Full story, thanks."

Jonah twitched, and bit his lip slightly, but didn't wake. Ronin leaned over, and took his pulse, before retreating back to the chair and saying nothing. He'd expected the arrhythmia to set in, so it wasn't a surprise. It was also - at most - mildly annoying to the kid right now. He might just be having bad dreams. Which, given what had probably been in his system was a whole hell of a lot better than being in a body-bag or six-feet-under.

[zapdragon555]

Jadyr looked as much startled as he did affronted. How did this guy know he was lying? What a load of shit--Jadyr was pretty sure the guy would've called him out no matter what he'd said, even if it had been the truth, but to hell with it. This Ronin guy was weird, and helpful, and Jadyr hated that he felt even the slightest remorse for wanting to sock him in the face.

Whatever. Fine. "Jadyr, Jonah," he muttered, pointing to himself and the boy lying on the table in order. "We were at a club together--still only just met the guy, though, and we were just talking," he interjected, "And got knocked out by some gas in one of the back rooms. The Back Door, I think the place was called; so Emille must've known about it. And from that doorway..." he began, looking over at the door and squinting in thought. "We came straight from that way." He pointed diagonally, towards the wall, but it was a solid direction. "Didn't turn at all. Just walked. The building we came from was the only thing around for miles, I'm pretty damn sure, except this place of yours." Jadyr blinked as he felt Jonah twitch behind him, and he watched with a worried flicker as Ronin took his pulse. "How is he?" he asked as an afterthought, hoping they could change the subject. He didn't much like explaining himself, and Jonah wasn't looking so good, not that he'd ever really looked good since the moment they'd both woken up in that place. But hey.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

"Not good." Ronin said. "Unavoidable. But he's alright for now. If he gets worse, I'll deal with it." He scratched his chin a bit. "Straight south, huh? You must have been walking for at least half a day. The only thing out that way is an abandoned gas sta- ... No, wait. There was a farm out there once upon a time. A nice old lady owned it, sold wool and milk out of it every so often. I heard she'd died in her sleep sometime recently, though, left the farm to the state. If there's someone using it for that purpose, I'll let the police know." He paused there, and pulled out a phone, texting. "I know someone on the force. He'll have squad cars out here to canvas the area as soon as they can get here. But.... The Back Door? That's all the way downtown.. three districts from here. This part of the forest is generally reserved for tourists and nature-hikers."

He motioned toward Jonah. "Not strung-out kidnappees. That farm is at least ten miles away by foot, and it's too dangerous to drive through. I think you'll be safe in here until the cops arrive... then I'll have some cars take you back to the city. "Your face is hella familiar, though, Mr. Jadyr. I swear I've seen you around somewhere. I was trying to place it earlier, and couldn't. You don't work for Tobias, do you? He's an old... erm... Gods, what were we even? Not even flame. Not even friend, really... casual buddy? Of mine. Back before he started the delivery and graffiti racket, he used to work for me. Well... was supposed to work for me. A doctor named Eden at the place I used to work mentioned that there was a homeless kid sniffing around for a job, and I gave him one. Mostly as a scrub-worker, delivering stuff to doctors, and making food for patients. I couldn't afford to give him much, and I think he made his living off other things before he called it quits with me... But we do still talk from time to time. I could have sworn your face was in one of the pictures he showed me. What were we talking about again?"

Tapping his chin again, he looked to be deep in thought. "Ah! Right, he was talking about where to get his next dose of medication from. Aaaah. Now I know where I know you from. He told me Jadyr had his back no matter what, so I could go ahead and prescribe the stuff." He crossed his arms. "Something about you being his best friend."

[zapdragon555]

Despite everything, Jadyr did feel himself ease up a little at Ronin's words. At least he was sober enough now--Jadyr could trust him, he'd decided. He didn't really have a choice anyway. His attention wandered as the other man continued speaking, occasionally glancing over at Jonah to see if anything had changed or gotten visibly worse, each time answered with nothing. Jadyr felt like he was gonna go crazy in that clinic, knowing Emille could be on their tail far closer than this Ronin guy could know, and not knowing of Jonah was going to even make it out of this or not.

But then, maybe that would be easier. No one else to look out for, just himself, until he got back to the city. Then--

Jadyr blinked as Ronin said his name, and he perked up, taking his chin off his hand. Familiar, huh? Jadyr's eyes widened considerably at the mention of Tobias, before the cloud of irritation returned to his headspace. "Woah, woah--first of all. First of all, I don't work for shit. Tobias works for me, or at least he pretends to," he snapped, muttering. Jadyr wasn't too sure about all that other bullshit the doctor was saying, and he pretended not to listen too much, but it piqued his curiosity. So Tobias had a past on him? A pretty recent one? Maybe he'd prod at that later, if it ever came up. Jadyr groaned and rubbed a hand over his face at the secondhand compliment--or whatever it was--and dragged his fingers down his jawline in exasperation. "Yeah, I know Tobias. He's... a friend." Jadyr didn't use the word lightly--to Ronin it probably sounded cold, but in truth Jadyr just didn't know what else to call the guy. He'd been with Black Mamba almost the longest of any of the members, and he'd known Jadyr before the gang had even been established. Jadyr didn't have time for these weird, twisted up feelings and curiosities and pressing questions (like 'what medication?'). "Glad you gave him work, I guess. Glad he mentioned me. This mean we're cool about the whole intruding on your clinic thing?" he asked, not sounding too hopeful but not really sounding very hostile, either.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

"Mmmm... well. You didn't knock anything over or break anything, so I'm not going to press charges." He shrugged, and looked at his phone when it buzzed. "Ah. He's sending squad cars over now. Apparently they've already got a man-hunt going for this guy Emille. He's... ugh, that's gruesome. He's killed before. Looks like they've got a serial kidnapping case on him. Fourteen young men and two women. All of whom were recovered, but... yeah." He winced, and shook his head. "You'll be safe here. Cops will be here soon, and I'll send you both back with them." Glancing toward Jonah, he sighed. "... and send this boy back to a hospital. He's going to need some treatment that I can't provide. I can help him ride the effects for a while, but there's only so much I can do for him here." He shrugged. "Whether or not you go with him is your prerogative."

Standing up from the chair, he walked over to the side counter, and retrieved two glasses out of the cupboard above it, poured water from the faucet into both of them, and offered Jadyr one while he drank from the other. "Drink. You need it. Especially after walking that far with him on your back. There's more where that came from, of course. I'm on a private filtered water-supply for the clinic." He tossed back the glass, and sighed hard when his phone vibrated again. After a moment of looking at it, he quirked a brow. "Speak of the devil. ... Heh. That's a very, very strange text to be getting from Tobias. Looks like a mis-text."

He offered his phone toward Jadyr. "I don't know - can you make heads or tails of this?" The text looked almost like a jumble of letters and numbers. Like Tobias had swiped his thumb over the buttons while trying to say something else. "Heh. Maybe he's drunk. Even though he shouldn't be drinking with his condition. Especially not after the last time he got smashed."

[zapdragon555]

Jadyr had taken to tapping his fingers restlessly on the table, his eyes locked on the clock on the wall and ears locked on Jonah's breathing. The cadence of his fingers seemed to increase and slow at various times as Ronin spun some gruesome stories about the horrors they'd apparently just barely escaped by the skin of their teeth, which wasn't a happy thought, all things considered. At least if the police found him, they'd lock the looney up. If Jadyr sent some of his boys after Emille, they could end up in pretty bad shape...

Prerogative, huh? Jadyr's amber eyes flicked over to Jonah's face, his mouth twitching. It would be easier to just drop the kid off at the hospital... but then, what if he ended up dying? Jadyr would never know about it. And honestly under normal circumstances, that was just fine with him. But for whatever reason... he at least wanted to know this guy would be okay--okay in a relative sense, anyway. There was something about being kidnapped together that kind of drew two people together, in a twisted kind of way.

"Mm--thanks," Jadyr blinked at the offered water, real gratitude in his voice. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was until he saw the water being poured, and he grabbed the glass and drank a few gulps before he heard the phone vibration. Damn, he wished he had his phone on him. If that Emille guy had it...

Jadyr nearly choked on his water at the thought. If Emille had it, he could contact the rest of Black Mamba. Fuck. Fuck, this might actually be bad--what was Ronin saying? Jadyr looked up at him, wide-eyed and coughing a little, then took the phone with a growing dread. He'd contact Tobias. That would solve things; Tobias could contact the others, and then, and then he'd get control back. But upon looking at the text, Jadyr's neck clicked with a thick-throated swallow. Something about the message seemed... very off. It could've been a mis-text, for sure, but... Jadyr began typing, his hands shaking a little and wrists hurting from before. Listen, man, I hope you're there. Some fucking serial killer got my phone. Don't ask questions, just contact the others and tell them any texts coming from me are fake. We need to regroup, I'll get back to you on where. Send.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

Tobias was usually very slow answering texts. That didn't mean he didn't see them - it meant that he generally was busy. Too busy to reply. Hence, when the responding text came back immediately, it was a tip-off. Well... even more of a tip-off. The text was too well-spoken to be Tobi, as well. He usually responded with a lot of 'txt spk' and emoji's. This one was straight to the point, and chillingly so.

Tobias is dead. Or will be shortly.
Nice phone, by the way.
Who are Nathaniel and Rayzer?
Ah well, I guess I'll find out soon enough.
I'll find you, too. Sooner or later.
Enjoy your freedom. Enjoy that freak.

There was no signature, but it confirmed the worst. Emille had Tobi's phone, Jadyr's phone, and the entire list of people in Black Mamba at his fingertips. Emille had also... possibly killed Jadyr's best friend. There was a brief wait while the phone updated, and then the man included a photo with the text. It was Tobias... in a massive tank of water - half-in, half-out of it. His head wasn't submerged, but the way the water had to be rising with that hose in it... it would be soon.

Ronin, meanwhile, leaned back in the chair - after turning it the right way around - and studied Jadyr's face. "I know that look. I know it, because I've worn it myself a few times. What's up? What did he say?"

[zapdragon555]

Jadyr had been expecting a somewhat prompt answer, at least because Tobias would see Jadyr sounded pretty freaked out. No doubt, he'd have questions about the whole serial killer thing. But he didn't quite expect the text to come back that fast. It made his heart thud with anxiety that was foreign to him, up until several hours ago, and back when he was a kid.

Opening it was another hell entirely. In truth, it didn't quite settle in--Jadyr barely read any of it, just the first sentence, before he started instinctively typing on autopilot. Stop fucking around you fuck, this is serious. He didn't make it any further before his eyes quickly read over the text again, in full, and again, and again. It felt like a long time, but it could only have been a few seconds, before Jadyr slowly lowered the phone and stared at the floor with a lost, angry look. Tobias was... dead? Would be? Was this a trap? Complete bullshit? No, he had Tobias' phone. Emille had Tobias' phone. Tobias was fucked up, but he wouldn't do something like this. He'd send a dumb smiley after it, say 'JK' way before Jadyr even had time to finish the text--this was bad. This was real bad.

"I gotta go," Jadyr said, voice dying in his throat as he jerked to his feet, not letting go of the phone. "I need this. I'm taking this phone, fuck, I gotta go. You got a gun? I need a gun..." Jadyr started talking on rapidfire, rambling, pacing around the room in agitated strides, Jonah momentarily forgotten. "It's Emille, he's got Tobi, and I'm gonna blow his brains out. Gun. Knife. Something?" he suddenly snapped, whirling around and staring at Ronin with more fear than he was sure he'd ever shown in his life.

[Rainbowfox Ari]

"Oh no you don't. I'm not letting you go alone." He stood, and looked around the room. "Let me make a quick text to a neighbor, then I'll go with you. I have a gun, but it's not going with us in your hands." Ronin took back his phone, to text someone, then pocketed it. "Before you argue - I have military training, and I've been trained by several police departments to handle hostage and kidnapping situations. IF you're going after this douchewaffle... I'm going with you."

He looked up as a man walked into the room with a heavy gait. He didn't look all that happy about the situation, and leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, and his eyes narrowed. "I told you I was right around the corner. Ronin, 'going off to handle something' wouldn't include a gun and a bad idea, would it?"

Ronin winced. "Nice to see you too, Horatio. Only one of those. There's some fucker by the name of Emille, and he's got a kid. I have to go."

Horatio sighed, rolled his eyes, and pulled up a chair. "Alright. Go. I'll watch this kid. Gods only know you're going to get yourself in trouble, and there might as well be someone here to man this sinking ship." He turned his gaze toward the other in the room, and his eyes flashed with recognition. "Jadyr? What... in the names of all the gods are you doing way out here in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, and with Ronin of all things... I remember talking to you back in the city. Oh... gods... years ago. But I never forget a face. You were the one helping me wean Hamlet off his medications. Or at least trying to."

[zapdragon555]

Ronin's words almost fell on deaf ears--Jadyr was too much in a tizzy to really comprehend it until the phone was snatched out of his hands. "Hey--" he cut off, staring at Ronin as the other man began talking to him. He felt like a caged animal, suddenly bursting with adrenaline and energy and a need to leave and run and find. He flinched and froze as someone entered, eyes wild and wide, but fought down the instinct to leave by force and instead listen to what was going on. God, was he stupid? Of course he'd probably need backup. Black Mamba wasn't a solo operation, so where was this heroism of his coming from?

"Can't say the same for me--I forget faces all the time. Glad we could help you out, though," he said, his voice choppy and short with urgency. "Come on, Ronin. Thanks, you--Horatio? Yeah. Keep an eye on him," he said, jerking a thumb back at Jonah. Slowly, he was getting his bearings again. He was calmer now. Jonah would be safe with this guy, most likely, and Emille would have a bullet in his brain soon enough. He could handle this. He wasn't some scared kid anymore--it'd been years since he'd last been this scared and he wasn't about to let it control him. He reached into his pocket and thumbed Jonah's knife, then gripped it once and pulled it out. If Ronin wouldn't loan him a gun, he'd use this, then. "We're leaving," he said, tired of waiting around. "Let's go."

[Rainbowfox Ari]

"Right. Let's get going. I know where the shed is, and yeah - that picture was taken in the shed. Let's go ahead and get out there." Ronin started toward the door, patting Horatio on the shoulder. "You have my number, but you're also a capable medic. Take care of him." He grabbed a backpack from next to the door, and started out toward the shed. In his mind, he was picturing half-a-dozen different scenarios, each more terrible than the last. It didn't take too long to get back to the shed - maybe twenty minutes or so of hiking across the trails. The shed, unsurprisingly, was standing open, and there was no car, no trace of Emille.

Ronin stopped once the shed came into sight. "... Shit. He's long gone by now." He muttered, starting toward the shed proper. "I'm going to check the back and see if he's left any sort of trail... You go inside and look around. See if you can find your friend."