Justice

Disclaimer: I don't own High Mountain Rangers, or Jesse Hawkes, not making any money, just cheap thrills.

Warnings: Angst, Violence

Rating: FRT

Justice
Chapter 5


Jesse anxiously followed the Sherrif's deputies into the woods. Glancing at Matt, he could easily read the fear and nervousness on the face of his oldest. Both emotions were overridden, however, by the blond's determination to bring his little brother home. Letting the deputies take the lead was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. He understood, though, that these men knew the woods around here better than he did. After six weeks of searching for his youngest, he would do whatever it took to get him back, even if it meant taking a back seat for the moment.

Dan Moore cast a concerned look towards the Hawkes men. He still wasn't convinced that bringing them along was the best idea. If it had been up to him, they wouldn't have been contacted until after the raid on the cabin. Unfortunately the sheriff was a friend of a friend and so he had called the boy's father as soon as Rassy had been spotted. His only hope of keeping control of the situation was the fact that both men had experience in law enforcement. He prayed it would be enough, especially if the boy wasn't alive. Holding his hand up, he signaled for the others to stop. Nerves stretched taut, he waited for Deputy Smith to report in.

"The kid is there."

"What about Rassy?" Jesse asked as he joined them.

"He's there too, inside the cabin."

"Inside?" Dan questioned. "He's letting the kid out on his own?"

Smith shot Jesse a look, he really didn't want to be the one to break the news.

"Whatever it is son, just spit it out," Jesse ordered.

The authority in the older man's voice was enough to have Smith obeying. "Yes sir," he nodded. "The kid is," he licked suddenly dry lips. "He's chained up like a dog. He's naked too, so you can see every mark on him," he warned them.

"Are you sure Rassy is inside?" Dan asked.

"Absolutely, at least he was when I left."

"All right," Dan nodded. He quickly outlined where he wanted each of the men. The moment everybody was in position, he led the way towards the cabin. Even with Smith's warning about what they'd find, he stared in shock at the sight before him. He turned to look at the Hawkes, knowing that if this was hard for him to see, it was a thousand times worse for them. Prepared to grab them, he was shocked to the core when neither man rushed forward. Dan wasn't fooled by their restraint, one look at their faces and even a fool could see it was taking every ounce of will power for them to stay back.

Clenching his hands, Jesse impatiently waited for the signal to move forward. The wait, though only a few minutes in reality, seemed interminable. Finally Moore gave the signal and the men surrounding the cabin moved forward; the deputies focusing on the cabin while Jesse and Matt headed for Cody.

Larry smirked, enjoying the thought of the boy waiting miserably in the cool fall weather for the rest of his punishment. Glancing at his watch, he considered how much longer he should wait. Heaving a sigh, he sat his beer on the coffee table and stood up. Retrieving the whip he'd bought, he turned towards the door just as it was kicked in.

“Freeze, police!” Moore yelled, leveling his gun at the fugitive.

Rassy froze. Maybe if there had been only one cop he would have tried to fight his way out, but looking around the cabin that was now filling with officers, he knew there was no escape. He hadn't planned to return to prison, especially with Cody Hawkes still alive, but it looked like that was where he was headed. Though, he supposed in a way he had guaranteed the boy would suffer as much as he had, more really. He would return to San Francisco and find that his father and brother were dead, had been for weeks. Then he would realize that all of those weeks he'd been his slave to save his family, had been for nothing. The boy would never recover from everything he'd been through, no matter how many years he survived past today.

Deputy Smith glanced at Moore, shuddering as the fugitive suddenly began to laugh. Was he crazy? What kind of man does the things he'd obviously done to that kid, after escaping from prison, and then laughs like a loon when he's finally caught? It didn't make any sense and frankly it gave him the creeps.

Moore could almost read the thoughts going through Smith's mind, probably because he was thinking similar things. Shrugging his shoulders, letting Smith know he didn't understand either, he ordered the fugitive to lay on the floor and place his hands behind him. Kneeling down, he placed one knee on the man's back and cuffed his wrists, insuring that he wouldn't be escaping.


The second the officers disappeared inside the cabin, Jesse and Matt rushed towards the boy kneeling in the dirt, chained to a nearby tree. They froze in shock as Cody let out a pain-filled whimper, cowering away from them.

“Cody, son,” Jesse softly called out to the traumatized teenager. Taking a step forward, he quickly stopped when his son moved away from him. “It's okay Cody, you're safe now,” he assured the boy, struggling to keep his voice calm.

“Hey little brother,” Matt quietly greeted the younger boy. “You want some help getting that collar off?”

“We can get rid of it, if you'll let us closer,” Jesse added, following Matt's lead. Jesse sighed, his heart heavy with worry at the lack of reaction from his son. “Cody please let us help you,” he plead with the teen.

“Can't help...nobody helps...”

Jesse and Matt shared a concerned glance, both men wondering what Cody meant by that. “We'll help you Cody, you just have to let us closer.”

Cody curled in on himself as tightly as he could. He wanted to believe the voice that sounded like his father, but what if it was a trick? At that moment, he heard the voice of the man who lived to torment him. “I'm sorry master, I'll be good master,” he immediately cried out in terror.

Rassy turned towards the boy, swallowing his anger at the sight of the Hawkes family, he smirked evilly, well finding the boy wouldn't do them any good. “Not another goddamn word dog,” he yelled the order.

“Shut up Rassy,” Moore snapped. Gripping the man's arm tightly, he dragged him away from the cabin and towards where the cars were parked.

Larry threw back his head, laughing gleefully as he was led away. Hawkes was too late, he just didn't know it yet. His boy was broken, if there was any justice, irrecoverably. After weeks of punishment for every act of disobedience, the boy was no longer capable of disobeying an order. He only wished he could be there when Hawkes discovered that until the order was rescinded, the boy would never speak another word.

Cody whimpered, but no other sound escaped his lips. He saw legs moving towards him, but now that he had heard his master's voice he assumed they were here with permission, so he made no further attempt to move away. He only hoped he wouldn't be punished too badly for his earlier tries to escape from them.

Jesse glared at Rassy's retreating back; the sound of a whimper jerking his attention back to his son. “Cody, son,” he called in a soothing voice. Carefully moving closer, he was surprised that the teen didn't try to get away again. A niggling voice in the back of his head told him there was something wrong with the sudden change in behavior, but he ignored it, too overwhelmed with gratitude for the change to question it. Dropping to his knees, next to his son, he reached out for the lock holding the collar around Cody's neck. “Matt, go see if you can find a key for this lock,” he quietly ordered.

Matt nodded, “Yes sir.” Pushing himself back to his feet, he ran into the cabin and began searching.

“Hey! You can't do that,” Deputy Smith cried out.

Matt looked up, glaring murderously at the deputy whose hand was now clamped around his wrist. “Let go,” he growled.

“This is a crime scene, you can't just go tearing through it.”

“That's my little brother out there,” he snarled, jerking his head towards the yard, “and I'm not going to let him stay chained up like a dog. Now, you can either help me find the key to that collar, or you can get out of my way.”

“Look Hawkes, I understand you wanting to free your brother, but you've been in law enforcement so you should know there are certain procedures that have to be followed.”

Matt glared, “So we should just leave my brother out there? I don't think so.”

“I'm not suggesting that, but you can't just go tearing the place apart either.”

“Um, excuse me,” a timid voice called from the doorway.

“What is it Officer Turner?” Smith snapped. The rookie's interruption couldn't have come at a worse time in his opinion.

“Mr. Hawkes asked me to come in and tell his son that he has the key.”

“How did that happen?” Smith demanded.

“Lieutenant Moore found it when he searched the prisoner, he sent me back with it. After I gave it to Mr. Hawkes, he asked that I let his son know,” Turner firmly replied. Inside he might be quaking, unnerved by the obvious irritation his superior was showing, but he wasn't about to show it.

Matt jerked his wrist from Smith's grip, “Thanks deputy Turner,” he acknowledged the younger officer. Without another word, he hurried outside to join his father. “How is he?”

Jesse looked up as Matt slid to a stop, dropping to his knees. “He's alive and I don't think any of his injuries are life threatening,” Jesse replied. Dropping his gaze back to his youngest, he adjusted the blanket one of the officers had given him, covering Cody, hiding him from the pitying gazes of those in the yard. “There's just so many of them,” he added in a whisper.

Matt nodded, swallowing around the lump in his throat. “Did anybody say where the paramedics are?”

“They're on their way, Moore didn't want them here until the scene was secure.”

“Has he said anything?” Matt asked.

Jesse shook his head, gently brushing the hair away from Cody's face. Taking in his son's battered form, he remembered every bruise, every cut and every burn he'd seen, silently promising that Rassy would pay for each mark on his son. He was so engrossed in his examination of his youngest that he didn't notice the arrival of the paramedics. It wasn't until strange hands tried to take Cody from his arms that he looked up, a snarl curling his lips. “Leave him alone.”

“Sir, we just want to help him,” a young red-headed woman soothed.

He snapped his head up at the sound of a soft, feminine voice. “He's naked, he won't want you seeing him like this,” Jesse protested.

“We'll keep the blanket over his genitals, I promise.” She could see the older man wavering, fighting between his need to protect the boy that was obviously his son and his need to make sure his son was taken care of. “My name's Stacey,” she introduced herself. “Can you tell me what his name is?”

“Cody,” Jesse swallowed, “his name is Cody Hawkes.”

“Will you let us help Cody? You can stay right here the whole time, okay?” That did the trick, carefully laying his son down, the older man moved a few inches away. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Matt stood next to his father, watching anxiously as the paramedics checked him over. He had been surprised by the change in his father when he had come back outside. It was as if, once Cody was in his arms again, the need to protect his son had overwhelmed him. Even if the only protection he could offer, at this point, was to protect his modesty. A small, sad, smile crossed Matt's face at that thought. “You okay?” he quietly asked.

“I'm not the one whose been tortured for the last six weeks,” Jesse snapped. Sighing, he scrubbed a hand over his face. “Sorry son, guess I'm a little tired,” he quickly apologized.

“More than a little tired, not to mention scared for Cody,” Matt softly spoke, his eyes filled with understanding.

“That too,” Jesse nodded.

Stacey looked up from her examination of the young man on the ground. “Mr. Hawkes? We're ready to transport Cody to the hospital. Would you like to ride with us?”

“You bet I would,” Jesse quickly replied. Turning to Matt, he opened his mouth only to be cut off by his oldest.

“I'll be right behind you Dad.”

Jesse nodded, turning to follow Stacey and her partner as they carried Cody between them on a stretcher. Soon they had loaded the stretcher into the ambulance and were on their way to the hospital, the blaring sirens clearing the path for them. Sitting on the bench across from Cody, Jesse picked up his son's hand, gently caressing the back of it with his thumb. “You're gonna be okay Cody,” he whispered, hoping his words would be proven true.

TBC

Sorry it took so long to update, hope you liked it. I deliberately didn't detail, yet, what happened to Cody at Rassy's hands. So, if anybody has a specific request for something now would be the time to voice it. Though, I don't promise I'll go with it, I may very well inflict your torture ideas on him. *evil laughter* Please feed the muse with reviews.