Quisvis

Chapter Three: …and Tears


Lucas sat in the back seat of the town car, Aristotle was once again behind
the wheel. He smiled slightly at the driver, it had been a little over a month
since he had woken up in his room with his ribs bandaged and stitches in his
back. He knew that the older man had somehow been involved but he
couldn’t remember anything after getting back in the car.

His father had been furious at the knowledge that someone had doctored
his son. Not to mention the unfortunate remorse the Under-Secretary
had shown. He had taken one look at the mess he had made of Lucas’s back
and been so over come with guilt he hadn’t been able to perform for the
camera. At least, since he hadn’t known he was being recorded, his admission
of guilt was almost as good for blackmail purposes. Of course that hadn’t
saved him from the ’lessons’ in staying alert.

He couldn’t tell Ari this but the lesson’s Richard and Mr. Porter had given
him had busted the stitches and broken a few more ribs. Those lessons were,
in fact, the reason he hadn’t seen the driver in so long. This was the first time
he had been out of the house since that night.

“So, where to kid? Boss man didn’t say when he called,” not that Aristotle
didn’t have his suspicions.

“The mall Ari! I get to spend an hour at the mall!” Lucas grinned. He had to
go to the Sea Breeze later but his dad needed some computer stuff and
knew Lucas knew more about computers than he did. It didn’t matter too
much why he was going though. Lucas was just excited to be away from his
house for a while.

Aristotle smiled at the first real signs of happiness from the boy. He really
did look young, bouncing a bit in the back like that.

“That’s great kid,” he glanced at Lucas through the rear view mirror. “We
getting dinner after?” He could have kicked himself as the haunted look returned
briefly before being hidden behind the mask the kid had perfected.

“No, I have to go to the Sea Breeze later,” his smile wavered before he put
the thoughts of later away. “But first I get a whole hour at the mall.”

“Well, I’ll speed through traffic and have us there in no time. Maybe stretch
that hour into an hour and a half.” Aristotle said through a strained smile.

“Cool.” Lucas breathed out as he settled into the seat to soak in the
fading sunlight.

^
An hour and a half later Lucas was filing the last hour away in his mind
as one of the best times he had in years. Better than graduating college
even, and that hour had been pretty good.

He had dragged Ari all over the mall. In one hour they had been able to
go into every shop and Aristotle hadn’t even gotten mad when Lucas
had spent longer than their self imposed time limit in the computer store.
Now though he was getting nervous again. They were back in the car
almost to the hotel.

“Ari, pull over for a second please,” he requested while chewing on his
thumbnail.

The car had barely come to a stop before Lucas had jumped out and
stumbled a few feet away. Aristotle was out of the car and around to
Lucas in a flash. Lucas had thrown up what little was on his stomach and
was dry heaving already.

“Lucas, man, you alright?” Ari asked s he rubbed the kid’s back.

“Yeah, just give me a second. I’m fine.”

“Maybe I should just take you home.”

Lucas’s stomach heaved again at the thought of going home now.

“No, not an option. I’m fine,” Lucas took several deep breaths and kept
repeating that he was fine. He wished that he was at home so he could
brush his teeth. He moved slowly back to the car. He stopped at the door
and put himself back into his sullen teenager persona. He had learned a
long time ago that it drove most people away. He liked Aristotle and didn’t
really want him to go away but he couldn’t deal with any thing else right
now. Lucas took a few more deep breaths and focused on the task at
hand. He was about to go and see one of the top admirals of the
U.E.O.

Finally feeling a little less like bolting for another state he calmly got back
in the car and stared at the floor.

Aristotle could tell that the kid was on the edge, so he just stood there
watching Lucas pull himself together. Again, he had to marvel at the
masterful performance. He shook his head and watched as Lucas got
back in the car and sighed. The whole situation just sucked, he thought
as he got back in the car and continued the drive to the hotel.

^

The hunched figure slinked through the hotel lobby in a typical vision of
sullen teen angst. It was the perfect cover, no one noticed sullen teenagers,
after all. Or it would have been the perfect cover if not for the fact that the
teenager really was sullen. He did not want to be there.

Lucas paced around in the elevator, unable to still his jittery movements. His
mind was racing with the possibilities of what could happen in the next hour.
He hated it when his father sent him out like this. The transition from carefree
mall rat to under aged male prostitute played havoc with his psyche. He never
knew how to react anymore. It used to be so simple, if he was away from home
he was safe but more and more he found himself scared all the time. His father
owned everyone and he didn’t feel safe anywhere.

As the elevator began to level off he stopped pacing and took a deep
cleansing breath. He centered his mind to the task at hand. It was not the
same picture of teen angst that exited the elevator. Lucas walked off the
lift with a sway to his hips and just a hint of a smile on his lips. Heads turned
as the blue-eyed boy walked by. It was a mask he had learned well. He put
away all emotions and only let them see what he wanted them to see.

Lucas quickly rapped at the door to the Admirals room and stepped back.
When the door swung open he took in the rooms occupant. The older man
looked about like Lucas was expecting. He didn’t have that gleam in his eyes
that Lucas had come to associate with the already corrupted, but that was ok,
Lucas had led the uncorrupted astray before. Tonight would be no different.

“Hi, I’m Lucas Wolenczak. My dad asked me to stop by, since I was already
going out, and see if you needed anything,” Lucas started with his standard
introduction while eyeing the room. The Admiral took a step back as Lucas
leaned forward under the guise of getting a better look at the room.

“Wow, cool room! I bet you’ve got a great view from here,” he stepped forward
just a bit more. He smirked inwardly as the Admiral took another step back. It
was typical, these old guys his father sent him to never knew how to react at
first. It was something he counted on to get him in the room. He kept up his
stream of chatter as well as the small yet advancing steps. When he was fully in
the room he relaxed somewhat and finally paused in his ramblings about the
greatness of the room. In truth it was the same room his father always booked
for his business associates. Lucas had been here many times.

He walked around the room as if checking it out, then glanced back at the still
silent admiral.

“So did you need,” he gave a coy little smile, “anything?”

Lucas had to turn away and hide his smile of triumph as the older man finally
closed the door and started walking towards him. Admiral Noyce still hadn’t
said anything but that wasn’t too uncommon. Lucas took off his jacket; he
was wearing another mesh shirt, this time in red.

“Hmm, don’t know why I wore a jacket. It isn’t like I really need it with this weather.
Right Admiral?” he said as he threw the jacket down on the chair beside the bed.

Lucas paused, usually he got some type of response by now. He gave up the
pretense of checking out the view and turned fully towards the other man.

A small tremor ran through him at the look the man was giving him. This was not
the response he had been expecting. Usually there was confusion or maybe by
now the other guy would know the score and was looking forward to it but the
Admiral looked truly pissed.

“So, let me get this straight young man. Your father sent you here to see if I
needed anything,” Admiral Noyce’s voice was tightly controlled. Lucas just
shook his head in affirmation.

“And what exactly did he expect you to do about it if I did?”

“Any…” Lucas cleared his throat. He couldn’t believe this man was affecting
him this way. He took a deep breath and tried again.

“Anything,” he tried to put himself back in the illusion, he took a few steps
forward, swaying his hips as he walked. “Anything you want,” Lucas came to
a stop less than a foot from the man.

The Admiral suddenly reached out and spun him around; their bodies were
pulled flush against each other.

“What if I want to fuck you?” He growled in Lucas’s ear.

Lucas pushed himself back into the body behind him. This was something he knew
how to deal with, after the initial rush of panic anyway.

“Then fuck me,” he let his answer come out as a sigh, as if he meant it. Which in a
way he did. It was better for him if that was the only thing the man wanted. Generally
though, he wasn’t that lucky.

The Admiral grabbed his hands and held them together in a strong grip.

“And if I wanted to hurt you, boy?”

Lucas rubbed himself back again as if the thought was turning him on.

“Anything you want.”

He felt the stronger man’s grip tighten for a half a second and began mentally
preparing himself for pain. His many lessons flashed through his mind.

‘It’s just nerve stimulation, you control your responses.’
‘Moan, don’t whimper.’
‘Arch into the whip not away.’
‘Bite your lip with the first slap, the quicker you bleed the quicker you satisfy
the blood lust.’

He let himself fall limply onto the floor as he was pushed away. This was a game
he knew the rules to so he stayed on the floor. He was however unprepared for
the larger man to walk over, open the door and motion someone else in. And he
was totally shocked to see Aristotle walk through the door followed by several
others all in uniform.

“Oh no oh no oh no…” Lucas whimpered as he realized what was happening.
This was so very, very, not good. The blood drained from his face, his father
was going to kill him. As he panicked and started hyperventilating, his mind flashed
back to that first horrible night. The night he had begun learning about Pain.

‘There now, did you feel the difference that time? That was a rib breaking as
opposed to before when I merely bruised one.’

The burning pain as his body was invaded.

‘Ah, did you feel that now you are bleeding.’

Always that same calm voice.

‘Your body can asphyxiate for several minutes before loosing consciousness.’

Hands touching him, slapping him, hitting him, always the hands.

It was a good thing that Lucas was still on the floor as his world turned black and
he succumbed to the oblivion of unconsciousness.

^

Aristotle fumed as he parked the car in the hotel parking garage. He was really
hoping it would only be his driving skills that were needed. He hoped that his
suspicions were wrong. He hoped, but he didn’t believe. There was just too much
evidence, circumstantial, yes, but too many coincidences led to a powerful master
plan.

He let his anger at the situation he now found himself in simmer. If they were wrong
about the senior Wolenczak he would be a bit happier, but that would still leave
a young kid getting hurt somewhere in this hotel. However he had to do it, he
intended to stop it.

His anger carried him up the four flights of stairs quickly. Lucas was probably
already in the room so he needed to move fast. He scanned the forth floor
corridor as he made his way to room four eleven, directly across from the Admiral.
He was already taking off his chauffeur’s jacket as he entered.

Barbie met him at the door with his shirt.

“Thanks,” he mumbled as he pulled the black turtleneck over his head. The shirt
was made from a new stretchy material that was completely bullet and pulse
proof. It was the standard uniform of a T.R.U. Soldier.

Lt. Commander Matthew Mc Graff, code name Aristotle, stood with the rest
of his team waiting for their commander to give the signal to move. He really
hoped the friendship he and the kid had tentatively formed would let Lucas
forgive his deception.

Aristotle pushed his personal feelings aside as the signal came, though he let
himself feel a small measure of relief that Lucas was safe. He took his place in
line and walked across the hall to the Admiral’s room. The team entered in a
loose march and stopped just behind the Admiral. As the unit turned in perfect
formation he got his first look at the boy on the floor. He watched as the
realization of what was happening dawned on Lucas. The child’s flushed
face quickly lost all color as panic set in.

He only held out for a few heartbeats before he gave in to the need to go
to Lucas. It nearly broke his heart to hear the trembling figure muttering over
and over. “Oh no oh no oh no, he’s going to kill me”

Lucas scuttled backwards until his back hit the nightstand when Aristotle
reached out to touch him. Aristotle turned back to his team and growled at
Lt. Commander Barbara Nelson. “He’s going to need a sedative.”

Barbie looked to Commander Parker and reached for her med bag but did
not break rank until the Admiral nodded.

“Go ahead, we won’t get anything useful from him like this.”

A few minutes later, Aristotle placed the sedated teen on the bed with a sigh.

“Damn it, I was half hoping we were wrong,” he said in disgust as he turned
back to the others.

“We were all hoping we were wrong,” said Robin Parker softly. The team had
all gathered around the bed and were now staring down at the tiny looking
blond boy.

“Now we know what Wolenczak has on the Under-Secretary and Simmons,
those are the men that were in this room the other two times you dropped him
off. Right?” Noyce looked to Aristotle for confirmation.

“The last two times, yes, but there was another time also. Who was the first
guy?”

“And exactly how long has this been going on? The kids only, what, fifteen?”
asked Lt. Commander Eugene Woods, communications expert for the team.

“Fourteen actually,” Barbie answered.

“Damn,” Gene sighed.

“Ok, people listen up. Gene, you and Ruiz go next door and get our gear, bring
it all back over here and set it up. I want the names of every UEO official that
has stayed in this room, going back two or three years. Gene, while Jose is
looking for that, I want you going over the tape of tonight’s events. Clean it
up and get it presentable for viewing.”

The two soldiers nodded and left the room.

“Barbie, I need you to give him a quick look over. If the abuse goes on at home,
like we think he could be injured now. I don’t like the long break Wolenczak took.
Especially not that it came right after you treating him the last time. Most likely
he got in trouble for going home already patched up,” she held up her hand to
forestall their comments. “You don’t have to defend your actions to me, you
were doing the right thing. Unfortunately some times even the right thing has
consequences. So check him out. Aristotle will help you.”

The commander turned to her second in command and saw that he hadn’t heard
any thing she had said. He was staring down at Lucas, lost in thought. This had
hit the elite soldier pretty hard; he had a big soft spot for kids.

“Aristotle,” she said softly. When he didn’t respond she shared a glance with
Barbara, the medic took the hint and got to work. Parker let go of her command
for a second and looked at her friend.

“Matt… Matthew,” she laid her hand on his shoulder when he jumped.

“Huh? What is it Artemis?” his eyes finally focused on her.

“You know this wasn’t your fault. Right? In fact you’ve probably saved this boy’s
life tonight,” they both glanced to the bed were Barbie had just removed
Lucas’s shirt.

Parker closed her eyes and stifled a groan; Barbara had Lucas’s prone form
rolled over on his side, exposing his back for them to see. It was covered in
scars, some just small white lines, but others were long thick marks where an
injury had been left untreated for whatever cruel reason.

Aristotle sat down on the bed and reached fore the pale white skin of the boys back.

“You see this one?” he ran his finger along a new pink scar, then another and another.

“These wouldn’t be here if I had just been paying a little attention,” he whispered softly.

“We are all guilty of that Mac,” Barbie responded softly. “None of us paid much
attention to Lucas, we were all focused on Lawrence.”

Admiral Noyce spoke up, having been almost forgotten by the rest of the team.
“If this is how Wolenczak has gotten as powerful as he is, then it’s been going
on for a few years now. He has learned to hide it well. Hell, the kid would’ve had
to just to survive. Wolenczak moves in the top circles of government. Not just
the UEO but worldwide. This Power project of his has garnered him a lot
of power and respect. No one would have believed the kid if he had spoken
up. Everyone would have thought he was trying to get attention,” he snorted
derisively. “Hell, I didn’t believe it until he showed up,” the admiral sighed. “The
important thing is that you -did- notice and you didn’t ignore it.”

“Yeah, whatever. It still seems like too little too late.”

The group fell silent, each lost in their own feelings of guilt.

@)(@
^