Chapter Ten
It was almost three years after Sebastian Clarke had begun to live with Deacon Hill that Hill took him back to Vegas.
Sebastian had worked hard to ingratiate himself with Hill. Now he had moved out of the barn and was living in a small basement room in the house, although he was always locked in his room at night. There was no doubt that although he had played along with Hill, they both realized he would kill Hill if given the chance.
He also had full access to the library and limited access to the computer. These were wonderful luxuries and allowed Sebastian to educate himself and escape into written worlds far from his detention.
Sebastian spent his days on the ranch caring for the dogs and horses. He also had buried many millions of dollars in drug money all over the ranch. The location of the money was only known to Sebastian and Hill and of course to Hill's partner the red headed cop. The cop would arrive about every five or six months. He would leave with the crystal meth that had been produced in the lab and he would give them money which Sebastian would bury in the exact location that Hill and the Cop told him.
Hill treated Sebastian with a mix of cruelty and approval. He had quickly learned how smart Sebastian was. Hill thought of himself as much smarter than most people and he felt somehow that Sebastian and he were kindred spirits.
Sebastian was no longer the chubby little boy that had been snatched off the streets. He was now a muscular young man of sixteen who had built his muscles working on the ranch. He tried to eat well and didn't mind the hard work which Hill assigned him. Building his muscles and exercising his brain were his focus during captivity and having these two objectives kept him from wallowing in misery. He knew that a captive needed purpose to maintain his sanity and Sebastian was able to avoid sinking too deeply into depression.
For the most part, Hill trusted Sebastian now. He had purposely given him lots of opportunities to escape, leaving him alone throughout the ranch. Hill even gave him tools that could be used as weapons. Hill knew there was always a gun, stock prod or taser hidden close by but he assumed the boy would not know that.
Hill was sure he had broken him down and he now had a willing protégé. He often told Sebastian that he had become Hill's "Tyro" and that as such they would build a fortune and enjoy it together. Hill had trained horses and dogs and he enjoyed shaping the boy. Sebastian would become another guard dog.
But Sebastian waited.
He knew that when Hill handed him a shovel or an axe that it was a test. He realized that his captor would be prepared to defend himself. Sebastian knew that running away into the desert was likely a death sentence and that Hill would wait long enough for Sebastian to exhaust himself and then he would arrive on a horse and drag Sebastian back to the barn.
He knew that Hill was testing him then and he had to pass the test to survive this imprisonment. Hill was toying with Sebastian but slowly Sebastian was turning the tables. He would convince the man that he was a willing slave until he had grown and was strong enough and he played along ever mindful of the dangers of becoming drawn in like so many captives do. He would not let the desire to build a relationship with this monster, the need to get access to better food, and books, confuse his ultimate goal.
He would kill Deacon Hill soon enough.
"We are going into the city. I'm going hunting," Hill said.
Sebastian was splitting wood. He put the axe down and slipped on his shirt. This was news that was almost too thrilling to be believed but he reacted calmly.
"I'd like to shower first," Sebastian said nonchalantly. He knew that Hill was expecting him to be excited about the prospect of getting away from the ranch. This had to be one of those tests. If he responded with too much excitement Hill might suspect that Sebastian was going to try to escape when they were off the ranch. He may not even be going into town. If Sebastian failed there would never be another chance.
"No. You won't need to get cleaned up," Hill said. "You will have a job to do, Tyro. You will have an assignment. If you can complete your assignment than I will use you again," Hill said. "If this goes well it will be the first of many excursions into the city."
"Please let me get cleaned up. I've been finishing my chores and if I am too dirty it will only draw attention to me," Sebastian said and he turned to hurry to the house.
Sebastian didn't have many clothes. The clothes he wore three years ago when he was in Vegas were much too small for him now but Hill had supplied him with a small wardrobe that needed to be constantly updated as Sebastian grew. Even still, Sebastian grew so quickly that his clothes always seemed too small for him. He was not as tall as Hill but he was nearly as heavy.
He ran down from the house moments later wearing the same jeans but having washed up and changed into a clean tee shirt which once belonged to Hill.
They climbed into a new black SUV. When Sebastian had told Hill that the police knew what sort of vehicle he drove he parked it and never used that car again. This was a Japanese import.
As they drove, Sebastian listened to Hill and made constant mental notes of location and surrounding buildings. It wasn't very long when they reached 95 and began to head north. He realized that if he were to try and run from the ranch he needed to go west and he could get to the highway on foot. This was very reassuring so he continued to watch for towns where a person could find help or at least a place to hide.
They had driven nearly an hour when they reached Searchlight, Nevada. If he were to escape he would need to get a ride to avoid capture, especially if Hill was chasing him.
When they reached Las Vegas, Hill pulled off the highway and found a restaurant where he ordered burgers at a drive through window. Then they drove north of the city and avoided the strip. They were in suburban Las Vegas when they pulled into a parking lot that was directly across from a shopping mall. There appeared to be about thirty cars in the mall parking lot.
"Are we going into the mall?" Sebastian asked. "It has to be close to eight o'clock and I am sure that those stores are going to close in about an hour. Are we shopping?"
His first encounter with Hill had been in a parking lot much like this one where Hill had deposited the body of a young woman.
"We aren't shopping my young tyro. We are hunting."
Hill opened the car windows and shut off the engine, slouched back into his seat and stared across the street at the mall without saying another word.
Sebastian was correct the mall was closing soon. There was a steady flow of shoppers leaving the mall. They carried bags and returned to their cars although there were a few cars which pulled in and hurried shoppers ran into the mall to get to a store before it closed.
Sebastian watched a short middle aged man park in a disabled spot and jump from his car, almost jogging to the mall entrance he returned three minutes later with a bag in his hand a drove quickly from the mall.
Sebastian had to find out what his tormentor had in store for him but again it was important for Sebastian to react carefully. He knew that Hill was about to do something illicit and that this could only be dangerous for Sebastian. Although he was concerned for his safety and he was anxious because as much as he didn't want to suffer the wrath of his captor he also didn't know if he would be able to do this.
Working around the ranch, helping in the lab and burying drug money for this monster was one thing but he would not hurt someone.
"Hunting? What do you mean?"
Sebastian tried to sound mildly interested.
"Tonight you are my hunting dog," Hill said. "In Romania when the peasants used to kill wolves they would use a dog as a decoy. They would chain the dog to a tree and leave it without food. The dog would eventually begin to howl and this would attract wolves. The peasants would kill the wolves and the dogs would be rewarded with the carcass of the wolf that they had trapped. You are my dog. You will help me catch our prey and then you will be rewarded."
Hill lay back in his seat and pulled a cap down over his eyes. A moment later he looked like he might be sleeping but Sebastian knew he was very much awake and very aware of his surroundings.
The mall closed and all of the cars in the lot slowly dwindled away. The sun was setting quickly and soon it would be too dark to see. Sebastian prayed that it would be too dark to continue and they would have to go back to the ranch.
It was mostly young people, working weekend jobs, who emptied out of the mall now. Many hurried to meet their parents in waiting cars but a few left in groups to hurry over to the bus stop. Sebastian and Hill waited and watched.
Forty five minutes after they had parked at the mall the flow of employees out of the mall slowly dwindled until it appeared that the mall had been emptied and closed.
"What are we doing? Everyone is gone," Sebastian said.
"Just wait. She is always amongst the very last to leave," Hill said and then just after he had spoken a teenage girl stepped out into the parking lot.
She was about seventeen and very pretty. Just over five feet with shoulder length dark hair, she walked quickly across the parking lot and stood alone at the bus stop as the sun slipped from the sky and it darkened.
"You need to go to her now. Ask her when the bus arrives. Tell her that you were shopping and your father had promised to pick you up but he never showed up.
Then when I arrive with the car you will offer her a ride. She will get into the car. I have watched her many times and she is much too willing to leave with handsome young men like you."
Having explained the plan Hill reached behind his seat and pulled a rifle from the back.
"If she refuses, I will kill her and we will leave."