Breathe ⭐️ Reddie

26

The first thing that registered in Eddie's mind was, "I need my fucking inhaler."

The air around him was hot, his throat scratchy, and he couldn't see a thing. Every breath Eddie took, he could feel his throat closing up.

"Where the fuck am I?" he thought, blinking and trying to calm himself down enough to breathe.

He wasn't afraid, no, he was confused and the air was too hot and humid. All he remembered was going with Richie to the Analysis Room... no. Henry said he needed to meet with the superiors, then... nothing?

Eddie coughed, trying to breathe. He needed his inhaler, needed to know what was going on, needed to know what had happened.

"Richie?! Stan?! Someone?!" Eddie called in a hoarse voice, trying to get someone to help him.

There was no response, but Eddie was blinded by a bright light when someone tore off what he discovered to be the bag over his head. Before his eyes could adjust, something was shoved into Eddie's mouth and he sighed in relief as someone pushed the trigger and cool air flowed into his throat.

His relief didn't last long, as Eddie quickly realized his arms were tied to the arms of a chair, and there were two large men standing in front of him.

One was Henry Bowers, and the other was... Eddie nearly yelled out in anger. It was the man who had tried to take him. The one who shot at Richie.

"Figured this would be useful," Henry said, tossing the inhaler onto the ground.

Eddie nearly gagged when he realized that germs may be covering his mouth and throat. He managed to keep his composure and glared at the man and Henry.

"Who the fuck are you and where the hell am I?" he hissed, tugging at the restraints.

"You're in Scorpion territory, kid," the man said, bored. "We've been looking into how to infiltrate and who to take from the Hive for decades. Was finally able to get my son in and he's been helping me figure it out."

"Your son?"

The man nodded toward Henry, who smirked.
"Yeah, Kaspbrack. You're not the only one who's got a dad who can head an organization," he said with an evil look in his eyes.

"That's impossible! You were born there, same as me!" Eddie shouted. He always had despised Henry, but now he hated him. He was a traitor and had played them.

"I was, but my mom wasn't. She managed to get in when she was pregnant with me, and taught me where I really belonged growing up, and it wasn't in the Hive. I faked being stupid and purposely failed my tests so that no one would suspect me, and when the time came, I betrayed the Hive. It wasn't that hard, to be honest. Even Bill and Ben's lie detector couldn't see through me."

Eddie's jaw was clenched and his fists were balled up so tight that his knuckles were turning white. "You fucking bitch."

Henry barked out a laugh and his dad patted his shoulder.

"Go on and let everyone know you're home, son. I'd like to talk with Mr. Kaspbrack alone," Henry's father said, sitting in a chair across from Eddie.

Henry nodded in respect and left the room, shutting a large metal door behind him. For a few minutes, Eddie and the man sat in silence, the latter surveying Eddie.

"What the fuck do you want with me?" Eddie asked, tired of the man looking him over.

"You know the majority of the secrets that the Hive keeps. You've been in the inner circle for the most part, and you're the most useful hostage. We know that your superiors will come after you, and they'd be willing to hand over the Hive to save you, I'm sure. As for your friends? They'd surely do our bidding to save you."

"I'm not telling you anything, and my friends won't come after me. The superiors would never allow it," Eddie snarled, hatred in his eyes.

"Maybe, but they're young. Stupid. If they had the chance, they'd break the rules to find you, I guarantee. Especially Tozier. So, I think we should help them out."

Eddie didn't want to ask what he was talking about. It would play into what Bowers was planning, but he was too tempted. "What are you talking about?" he hissed.

"Your friends know how to use tech, and they narrowed down more than I expected, such as where we were around the club, and the bug Henry put into their computers shows they've narrowed down that Henry is the traitor and that I'm involved. So, I'm going to have him leak a trail to us. We all know your boyfriend will be so desperate to save you that he won't hesitate to break the rules and go after you, and no one will be able to stop him. Once they 'find' us, we'll use them to take over the Hive, and when it's all over, I'll kill them."

Eddie felt his heart drop. He knew Richie too well and knew that any sign of saving Eddie and he'd take off in a second. The others would too.

"Why would you kill them?" Eddie asked, trying not to appear panicked. "You said I'm useful, so what about the rest of them?"

"Tozier hasn't been around long enough, so he's not really useful. He's smarter than necessary and he'd find a way to escape at some point, so I don't want him around. As for the others, I just need one person, and you're the most useful. I don't want the rest of them around, taking up space. And on top of all of that, it's the best way to get you to cooperate. You know they're going to die, but will it be me torturing them to death in front of you, or a bullet to the head?" he smiled at Eddie, who was frozen in shock. "I'm sure you have a lot to think about. Sleep well, Eddie."

With that, he stood and walked away. Eddie didn't want to think. He wanted to scream and rip his arms out of his restraints. They had been played the whole time and his dumbass adorable fucking boyfriend wouldn't be able to figure it out.