GiD- Lab Rat, part 4

</li>This story contains strong language, bondage, mild sexual themes, kidnapping, and other things along those lines.  You have been warned.</li>

---

It took a great deal of trying and at least an hour, but Gray managed to tilt the chair just far enough for just long enough that Prince was able to slip a few coils of rope free of the leg.  The slack was enough that he could move, and he twisted so that his chest touched Gray's hand.

"Okay, Gray."  He said, trying to catch his breath.  "That's me.  I need you to go under my jacket.  Feel that?  That's my radio- grab it."

Once Gray had a firm grip on the radio, Prince shifted back, and the radio slid out of its holder.

"Okay.  Don't drop that.  Next to your pinkie is a button.  I want you to press it down when I say to- it'll connect us to the main switchboard at the precinct.  Every time I say over, you need to take your finger off the button, and every time the desk says over, you need to press it down again."

Gray nodded, very carefully moving his pinkie to rest on the button.

"Okay, press it."  Gray pressed down, and there was a burst of static.  "HQ, this is Officer Chang, over."

Gray immediately lifted his finger, allowing the officer on duty to respond.  "Prince, what the hell are you up to?  You're off-duty, over."

"No time to explain.  Let's just say I'm bad at following orders.  I need a rescue mission at the le Fou warehouse by the waterfront, over."

"You know the Chief hates fixing your mistakes, over."

"Yeah, well, I'm tied to a chair right now, and I've got a banged-up civilian with me who'd really like to get away from the man who's been torturing him for the past three days, over."

There was a long pause on the other end, then a sigh.  "You're gonna be in for it, Chang.  Expect us by sun-up, and try not to let your smart mouth get you killed.  Over and out."

Prince laughed and shook his head.  "You can drop it now- he'll notify the Chief, and they'll all troop down here to watch me get my ass chewed out."

Gray grunted, immediately dropping the radio, which landed a few inches from Prince's hand.  Between the dim light filtering through the window and the blindfold, it was hard to tell much about his expression, but he seemed to look relieved.

"So, before we start wiggling again," Prince said conversationally.  "I was thinking- if I get you out of this alive, I'd sort of like to take you out to dinner or something.  You don't have to answer right now, but think about it."

Gray grunted again and went back to trying to lift the right side of the chair, but stopped and lifted his head as the door swung open, letting their captor in.  Prince grabbed for the radio, which had the very undesired effect of drawing the man's attention to it, and he strode over, taking it away.

"Trying to call for help?"  He asked, making a tsking sound.  "Really, Officer Chang."

"It's what any smart kidnapping victim with a radio would do, isn't it?"  Prince asked.  "Can I have that back?  I'm hoping to get hold of the Chief."

The man gave him an amused look before turning and throwing the radio against the wall, very obviously breaking it, then reached into a pocket of his lab coat and withdrew a black rubber ball gag.

"I was hoping I wouldn't need to do this."  He said.  "You're not part of my research, and I have no interest in you, but I can't have you stealing Gray from me."

Prince glared, briefly debating fighting, but he knew almost immediately that it would be pointless, and might alert the mad scientist to the fact that he was part of the way to getting himself untied.  "That thing better be clean."  He said instead.

"Brand new."  The man said, dropping to one knee and forcing the ball into Prince's mouth, fastening it behind his head.  "Only the best for my guests."

Prince grunted in response.  He watched as the man pulled a syringe from his pocket, withdrawing a sample of Gray's blood, then left, closing the door behind him.  He listened hard and heard the faint click of a lock, but it didn't bother him much- he'd burn that bridge when he got to it.

Once they were alone again, Gray renewed his efforts to help get Prince free of the chair leg.  It was only ten minutes or so before he was able to slip the ropes, and the freedom of movement was enough for him to fish the key out of his pocket and uncuff himself.

And once his hands were free, it was only a couple minutes more before they were both untied completely.

It wasn't until Prince was helping Gray out of the chair that he really got a good look at the kid, and once he did, he swore he was in love.  It wasn't just that he was tiny and adorable, or that he had huge, dark, innocent-looking eyes; it was also that he was obviously tough, far from helpless, and not the least intimidated by the fact that Prince was a foot and a half taller than him and at least twice as heavy.  He met Prince's eyes squarely and gave him a strong, sure smile.

"Thanks."  He said.  "Let's get out of here."

---

The lock on the door wasn't a very good one- Officer Chang managed to pick it in under a minute.  Gray led the cop out of the room and down the hall, remembering his last ill-fated escape attempt and keeping an ear out for the guards.  Guys that big didn't move silently except in movies, and he wasn't going to let them sneak up on him again.  He was getting out of this place if it killed him.

The pair of them moved as slow as they dared in an effort to keep quiet and keep from being found.  Gray recognized a few of the halls and signs from his last two attempts, and Officer Chang managed to remember a thing or two from his own limited scout-out, so they managed to find their way more-or-less without getting lost.

After what felt like hours, Gray stopped suddenly, trying a door handle and letting himself in.

"What are you doing?"  Officer Chang hissed, following him.

"I am not letting that bastard have my boots."  Gray said.

It was the room he'd first woken up in, and no one had bothered to clean it up since then, and his boots were still sitting on the floor next to the bench he'd woke up on.  He sat down and pulled them on, standing and stamping to settle them.

"There."  He said, going back to the door.  "Now we can leave.  These things were freaking expensive."

"I thought you were homeless."  Chang said, once again following him down the halls.

"I am."  Gray answered absently.  "Now.  I wasn't always.  I'm not always.  Sometimes someone'll take me in.  But the boots came from guilting people into paying me after we finished."

"You... don't seem all that upset."  Chang said after a minute.

"Why would I-" Gray frozen for a second, tensing, then relaxed again.  "Why would I be?  It's just sex.  My father screwed pretty much anyone who held still long enough.  It's part of what I am.  Everyone wants to fuck me."

"Still, that-"

"Shh!"  Gray hissed.  "Someone's ahead."  He backed up, grabbing Prince's hand, and dragged him back the way they'd come and into a side hall.  "Do you remember this part?"

"Umm... yes.  I came in this way.  Keep going straight until you run out of straight hall, then turn left."

Gray nodded, not letting go of the cop's hand.  It was a lot bigger than his, noticeably stronger, but it was comforting.  Prince seemed like one of the good guys.

They walked the rest of the hall in silence, both listening intently for any sign that someone was on to them.  They did not want to be caught at this stage.  After getting himself out of ropes and chains so many times, there was no telling what the doctor would use to restrain him if they got caught now.

They made the turn without incidence and were within sight of the short hall leading to the door Prince had used to get in in the first place when they ran into one of the mooks.  Not literally, thank God, but Gray did have to backpedal to avoid being grabbed, releasing a string of blistering oaths that made the goon freeze for a minute.  The duo took advantage of that to dart around him, making for the door, but he was over his surprise long before they reached it.

For some reason, it hadn't occurred to Gray that the guards might be armed until he heard gunfire behind him, and a bullet ricocheted off the pipes overhead.  It was logical they would be, but he'd never seen one pull a gun, so he'd assumed they weren't.  Big mistake.

Prince pulled his hand free, shoving Gray in front of him.  He wasn't armed and they both knew it, but he wasn't exactly defenseless- Gray looked back in time to see him pull the flashlight from his belt and hurl it at the gunman, forcing him to duck aside to avoid a direct hit between the eyes.

"And you're paying for that, too!"  Prince yelled as he shoved Gray through the door into the main warehouse room and towards the street door.

Gray was so high on fear and adrenaline that he had to look at the ground three or four times before he realized that Prince was bleeding heavily, leaving a pretty thick trail.  He must have gotten shot at some point, but he wasn't acting like it.

Gray hit the door – literally this time – scrambling to get the bolt unlocked and let Prince out.  No way was he letting Prince get shot twice.  Definitely not over him.  Things were not allowed to work that way, cop or no.

He slammed the bolt loose and yanked the door open just as Prince reached him, and they both stumbled out into the predawn darkness about two seconds before a flotilla of police cars, lights dark and sirens off, pulled up on the open stretch of concrete between the warehouse and the wharves.

"Oh, you are fucking kidding me."  Prince muttered with a disbelieving laugh.  "You're late!"  He yelled at the first person out of a car.

"What fresh hell are you in now?"  The unknown officer yelled back.  "I oughta have you kicked off the Force, you useless ass!"

"Fuck you both!"  Gray exclaimed, not sure if he should be relieved or exasperated.  "You're bleeding, you idiot- don't banter around like this is a Sunday picnic!"d had gone

After that was a blur of noise and activity, which lasted about ten minutes and ended with Gray sitting in an ambulance watching Prince get patched up.  The bullet had gone cleanly through his shoulder, and he'd need time to recover, but he'd survive.  And from the little Gray could gather, despite doing a long list of things that broke a longer list of police rules and regulations, he was only going to be placed under house arrest for the next week.

After most of the cops were gone and it was just Prince, Gray, and a paramedic, Gray slid off his perch in the corner and took the few small steps to where Prince sat, carefully pulling on his shirt.

"Hey."

"Hey."  Prince echoed, smiling.  "Boy, isn't it just my luck to get shot when we could have just waited it out?"

"I guess."  Gray said with a small shrug.  "Look, remember earlier, before we got loose, when you asked me out?"

"Yeah."  Prince said, reaching up with his good arm and ruffling Gray's hair.  "You still don't have to answer."

"I will, anyway."  Gray leaned over, gently resting his head against Prince's non-wounded shoulder.  "I'm gonna say yes.  And while we're at it, the paramedic says you need someone to look after you for a while.  I was thinking of volunteering for that."

"If you did, I'd definitely accept."  Prince said, wrapping an arm around his waist.  "I've got a wounded shoulder and the self-control of a saint."

"Good recommendations."  Gray laughed.  "The Chief says you're not allowed to decline to go to the hospital, and you're not allowed to drive yourself home."

"The Chief worries too much."  Prince said.  "I can drive one-handed."

"Shut up and lie down so the EMTs can do their job."  Gray snapped, shoving him lightly, and Prince did as he was told.

Whether or not it was the start of something beautiful remained to be seen, but it was definitely the start of something fun.