Oddly several members of the group didn't have a problem with this, Scott had volunteered to fight Daniel, claiming to be fighting for his fallen friend Dalton, but Ross was told he had to be the first.
The two stood facing one another, and if this was a cheesy 80s movie the camera would be circling them and a large clock would be striking three. The rest of the group surrounded them creating a make shift fight club wondering if the two friends would actually come to blows. Ross was obviously mad at Daniel for what had happened, Dalton was his friend as well, and he couldn't stand the fact that Daniel had chosen not to tell him what had taken place. He was pissed that Daniel had the audacity to get all up in arms the previous day when he found out that Anne knew why he had the 100 tag, but chose not to tell. Anne not telling didn't lead to a friends death, her keeping that information from him was for his own good, and its not as if he knew, it would change his number in some way.
Bonny knew, Rene knew, lots of people apparently knew, a small group who was keeping to themselves those first two days had no idea, but Daniel didn't believe them. How could he sit there and talk about all of them when he was holding the knowledge on how their friend had been killed. These thoughts played out in his head over and over. Almost as if it were some other voice in him, yelling at him, goading him to the point where finally he spurted out "You Shoulda'" it was barely recognizable as words, it was more spit and grunting when he screamed it and threw a wide right hook.
Daniel never thought it would happen, he never thought the guy he had been through so much with would actually get so angry that he'd hit him, and hit him hard. He felt his cheek and lips slide across his skull as if it spun all the way around like Daffy Ducks bill would in a cartoon. As fast as his head shot to the one side from the punch for some reason it snapped right back to the other like it was on a spring.
His eyes blinked wide, he tried to make words but his mouth was numb and his brain was temporarily out of order. Another punch, this one awkwardly hit him in the ear and was more of a graze than a full contact, he screamed and grabbed his ear, buckling over in pain and dancing around trying to get the ringing to stop.
"Fight back, if you don't the P90s open fire." Cipher watched intently, this wasn't his cavalier attitude that he usually had he was serious and everyone saw it, and it made them just a bit more afraid than usual. Daniel staggered back towards Ross and tried to raise his hands in defense but before he could, a hammering fist came down on to his face busting his nose. The blood hit the floor like it was pouring out of a slow faucet, making a puddle at his feet. He screamed a nasally yelp when he gripped the bridge of his now broken nose.
"Doesn't feel good does it? " Ross says pointing out to Daniel that previously Daniel had broken Ross's nose in the room in attempt to cause Cipher to think they were arguing. "Does it?! In my life I've been in two fights, I lost both, I'm not losing this one." he shouted again.
"Nope, it does not feel good. In my life, I've been in far to many fights, and I always felt justified, but this one, this one is wrong, and I'm sorry." Daniel sits on the floor Indian style and pinches his nose, trying to get it to stop. "You win, I can't fight anymore."
"That's not how this works Daniel!" Cipher shouts. "There's no quitting here, you fight, you survive, get up."
"He's done, he can't keep fighting with a broken nose, I won, its over." Ross turns and begins to walk back into the group.
"It's not over Ross. P90s!" Cipher speaks and the guards step up. They take aim at Daniel and Ross. "No, no, no that won't do boys, you know these two will get shot just to prove me wrong." One of the P90s turns his sites off of Ross and fires a shot. Anne screams and hits the floor.
"No!" he runs to her and picks her up, she's crying hard holding her ribs where she was hit, shes small and doesn't have the same padding as the men do, that shot most likely cracked a rib, or at least bruised one. "Alright stop!" Ross gets up and turns to go fight Daniel but is met surprisingly with a punch to the stomach. He's hit so hard he feels a little pee come out at the ground floor as whatever is in his stomach makes a run to the top floor. He winces attempting to catch his breath but its hindered by the fact that he's suddenly in a headlock and his head is being wrenched around over and over.
"I really am sorry buddy." Daniel doesn't even attempt to whisper. "But you know if I lose he'll be ticked and keep shooting the others." He forces Ross back up but gets behind him and kicks the back of his knee dropping him back to the floor. "I don't want to do this. I didn't want to kill Dalton, and I absolutely didn't want to lose you as my friend." the words seem odd as he grips Ross's wrist and twists his arm around and up. "I didn't tell you not because I couldn't trust you, or that I was afraid of what you would think, I knew you would understand." he hurls a kick into his ribs. "I didn't tell you because I hate myself for doing it, I hate the nightmares I have every night since that night, I hate that I was capable of even doing it to anyone, I just pretty much hate me." another kick.
"I'm betting he hates you now too." Cipher back to his snide quips, was it because Daniel was winning? Jim watches Ciphers reactions and wonders what is this weird connection these two have.
"I don't hate you. I get it. I'm just..." Ross looks up, his eyes full of tears and its hard to tell if its because of emotions or because of the beating he's getting.
"Disappointed." Daniel finishes his sentence.
"Yeah." Ross attempts to get off his knees and clenches his fist.
"I'm sorry again buddy." Daniel turns the arm around and bends it behind Ross's back and does a quick hop to his other side.
"Just do it." Ross squeezes his eyes tight as Daniel springs up his knee and connects to Ross's temple dropping him to the floor like a sack of wet cement.
"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner. Look at you Daniel, I knew you could do it. I just won twenty bucks! Look at that it only took you twenty minutes, that means you get forty minutes to rest, then next up, Liz."
"What?! I'm not fighting her!" Daniel screams out.
"Why because she's a girl? She's been the leader of the woman's group from day one, I'm sure she's all about equal rights and girls can do anything boys can do." Cipher wheels back in his chair his arms spread wide, full of himself.
"Actually I like the door being held open for me, a guy picking up a check and no I don't like fist fights, I actually shave my pits." Liz shoots back to Cipher.
"Hey!" a voice screams out from the back.
"Sorry April, no offense. So no, I'm not going to fight him." Liz moves towards Daniel. "So you might as well shoot me now I guess."
"Oh please Liz, fine guys only. See you all in forty." Cipher shuts off the monitor.
Forty minutes later Scott beats the crap out of Daniel, that sounds like the bad part, but the bad part is actually it takes fifty minutes for him to do it, not the best planning for Daniels. Ten minutes later he's fighting Dennis, it last all of seven minutes. It goes on for twelve hours, twelve fights and he fights them all, and any time the P90s make any reference of trying to shoot anyone, Daniel jumps right back in the fight.
After the last fight Daniel is a bloody mess, his hands shake and there's not a spot on his face that isn't bruised or swollen. This was the most time Cipher had spent on the monitor with them in a day, he watched every fight as if he was studying for an exam. He had been silent for the last four fights, in which Daniel barely was able to stand let alone throw a punch. "That's it Daniel. Twelve hours, twelve rounds, by twelve of your peers, you've been judged. P90s, take him, clean him up." the monitor goes off and Cipher leaves not in his normal condescending tone, but more of a sense of closure.
Daniel kneels on the floor, totally unaware that its all over, he's breathing heavy and barely able to move. Ross helps him off the ground and the P90s come over and grab him under the arms. "What are you doing?"
"We're going to fix him up, get back." for the first time in all this time a P90 speaks. "We'll bring him back Ross, don't worry." The other P90 near by looks over at the one that has spoken and while you can't see his face you know he's shocked that his co-worker has spoken. They drag him through one the doors, and just as it shuts and a gun shot is heard.
End day 42nd
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