It was basically holiday for me, being ordered to Italy for a quick run through the remaining shambles of the government. The country itself had all been abandoned, or else the citizens had gone underground to hide from the Con Rồng. I liked Italy, even without all the tourist spots open, I was still able to climb the tower of Pisa to watch the sunset, I was still able to meet Tobias there to spend a few weeks with him.
I never wanted to leave the five-star hotel we'd commandeered, figuring we could just hold up and live off the large store of food, Bay would never find me, but realistically that was kind if ignorant to think. Bay would find me no matter what, I couldn't just leave, so when the time came where I had to leave again, I didn't try to stop it.
The helicopter was just on the outskirts of the city, Tobias walked with me, his hand grasping mine and a grim expression on his face. I avoided looking at him, because if he saw the pain in my eyes he may try to do something stupid. Instead I forced a smile onto my face and turned to him, relaxing when he cupped his hands around my face and leaned closer to kiss me.
"Be safe," he whispered against my lips, and my fingers clung to his shirt as I let my eyes reopen to meet his hazel gaze, nodding my head.
"I'll do my best, and I'll contact you as soon as I can."
Usually someone would be waiting there for me, Vinet or Bay, but besides the pilot, it was empty, so instantly I knew something had happened. Most of the trip back I was messing with the black gloves on my hand that carefully hid the engagement ring on my left finger. If Bay saw it he was going to be suspicious, but I didn't want to take it off either, so I wore the gloves, hoping I wouldn't be questioned when we reached base.
The helicopter touched down around eight the next night, and I slung my bag over my shoulder before thanking the pilot and hopping out, making my way into the building and to my room, where I left my bag before going to meet Bay in the meeting room.
He was sitting alone at the head of the table, his feet propped up and his arms behind his head as he leaned his chair onto the back legs, looking relaxed and, honestly, a little too pleased with himself. When he saw me, he let the chair fall back onto all fours and stood up, grinning in excitement.
"Carter, finally!" he hurried around the table and pulled me into a hug, lifting me off the ground and squeezing me. My arms were pinned to my sides from the embrace, and he was holding me a bit too tight, but I didn't complain, just awkwardly touched his side, and nodded.
"I'm back. Italy is a wasteland," he set me down on my feet, hands on my shoulders as I straightened my shirt and continued, "Either the people evacuated the country entirely, or there was a genocide and they were killed, but I couldn't find any trace of government, military, or life at all. You know, besides trees and grass growing over cars and up blown out buildings."
That was a lie, flat out, but Bay seemed incredibly pleased, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and starting for the door, "Well done, as usual. I swear you're the only one I can trust here," he sighed and shook his head, then shrugged, "Not surprised, all these people are basically mercenaries, all of them are liars and cheats, but not you," he leaned forward and smiled back at me, "You're the only one I trust, Carter. Thank you for staying beside me."
His words were like a bullet through my chest, all I could see was my dead father, but I forced a smile onto my lips and nodded, "Thank you for... protecting me."
Bay seemed even more pleased at my words, holding me closer, "I promised I would, remember?"
"You've kept that promise," I assured honestly, because faults set aside, Bay has never once hurt me, and he's never once consciously allowed me to get hurt. The few times I was harmed, by someone or something, the cause was basically eradicated entirely.
Sometimes I wanted to think he was protective, but for all I knew I was just an excuse for Bay to mutilate things, claiming he did it because that person hurt me in some way. It was necessary, he would say, they hurt you, they needed to die. It made my chest warm, or chill, depending on if he was covered in blood and smiling when he said the words.
Why didn't I leave? I had somewhere to go, I had Tobias, and really Bay wouldn't have any clue where to look for me. So long as I hid out in the estate in Austria, stayed away from the limelight, then there was a chance I'd be safe for the rest of my life, but I couldn't. I wasn't that selfish, I caused so much pain, I had to take responsibility for it, so I wasn't going to run and hide.
Even though I could if I wanted, I refused. Not to mention... as horrible as it sounded, I didn't want to leave him alone. He was my brother after all, I still loved him, and besides, who knows how badly he would snap if I suddenly betrayed him? I couldn't imagine. Thanks to me being here, Demi's betrayal basically passed through him like the flu.
It put Bay down for a while, he was erratic and violent, but somehow by staying close to him, close enough to reach out and touch his arm, he slowly calmed down, and now his "puppet" going rogue was more of an inconvenience he could overlook, rather than a betrayal he was dead set to get revenge against.
I was like a failsafe for him, and for everyone else under this roof. If I left, Bay could really go crazy, and if he found Demi in that state, then assassin or no, he would die. With that in mind, the others in this group really should start treating me better. I'm literally the only thing keeping Bay from shooting them at random just for kicks.
"So, what did I miss?" I asked as Bay lead me down the hall, "Cooper screw up, yet?"
"Ah, the exact opposite, actually!" Bay answered, squeezing me with a look of excitement on his face, stopping so he could face me, grinning, "We got them back. Roy was the one who saw them, it was easy taking them both down, then they tried escaping again, but Cooper is a lot sharper than you give him credit. Both are still in custody."
"I'm sorry?" I furrowed my brows in confusion. What the hell was he talking about? Custody?
"Here, I'll show you," we turned down one hall, and my heart started drumming against my ribs when I realized he was leading me towards his bedroom.
When he opened the door, he released me, letting me step into the darkened room, my eyes instinctively moving to the bed. At first, I thought it was Demi, I'd come into this room so often before to find him beaten and bruised tied to Bay's bed, but when I took a second look I was even more horrified to realize that, while it wasn't Demi, it was his companion from the rebellion.
Dakota Bailey.
His dark hair was ratted and tangled, spots of blood staining the sheets beneath him, arms lifted towards the headboard and stretched out, dry blood streaked down them from the deep gashes in his wrists where metal cuffs locked him in place. His torn shirt was on the floor beside discarded jeans, and a single sheet was covering his hips, though I could see a few stains of blood on the cover and semen on his thighs.
I lifted a hand to cover my mouth to somehow keep myself from throwing up, my eyes raking over the cuts and burns covering him, then turning to see Bay. He was looking at Dakota with this gleam in his eyes, like he was so proud of himself and what he had done to this innocent kid.
For a moment, I nearly lost my cool, and my lunch, but somehow, I managed to speak without my voice shaking, "What is this?"
"A new friend," Bay answered, and he almost looked like an excited puppy who just got adopted with the way he turned to me and smiled. How could he look so innocent but be so demented at the same time?
"So?" my voice was tense, caught in my throat, "What do you want me to do?"
The answer was expected, as I'd heard it so many times before, "Clean him up, change the bandages around his head, just make sure he doesn't die of blood loss or a concussion. I think he's one of the little rats who broke into the bunker with Demi and killed Rupert, the one who shot you, so I may have gotten a little mad and gone just a little overboard while punishing him, but he did hurt you," he sounded remorseful, but the look in his dark eyes was haunting.
Sure, Dakota shot me, but it wasn't anywhere vital and it healed quickly! Bay, though, I don't think saying that would help him. He looked dead set on his words. This kid hurt me, even if it was a mundane injury, and that was enough to condemn him in Bay's book.
"Just clean him up for me, okay?"
"Fine," I added on before Bay reached the door, because I knew Dakota couldn't be the only one here, "What about Demi?"
Bay looked back at me, looking almost bored at the mention of his former slave, "Let me worry about my puppet. Just take care of Mr. Bailey," he pulled the door open, "I need to discuss a few things with Vinet and Mr. Cooper, join us when you're done here. We'll be in the dining room enjoying dinner. You can fill us in on what went down in Italy once you're settled."
"Sure," I mumbled, waiting for him to close the door before whispering to myself, "Inou, you dumb piece of shit."
I swear to god, what was wrong with that moron?! I leave for a month and he gets himself recaptured?! And to make things worse, he got Dakota captured too?! Should I just put a leash on that idiot? Lock him in a house? How the hell was I supposed to keep the dumb ass out of harm's way when he kept hopping straight into the fray?! All those times I put my own safety on the line to help him, and this is how he repays me.
I was going to fucking slap him.
For a while I just stood there rubbing my hands over my face, wondering how I was going to get the idiot out for a third time, but in the end, I knew what I had to do, dropping my arms to my sides and taking a shaky breath of resignation before turning and walking over to the bed, leaning over the kid, and patting his cheek gently.
"Hey," I turned his head towards me, my fingers searching out a pulse point on his neck, "Wake up."
Dakota screwed his eyes tighter before peeling them open to show the unfocussed hazel coloring that nearly matched Tobias' eyes, "Can I help you?" he asked me, and I think I deadpanned for a moment at his stupid question.
"Nice," I said as I reached up, using the key on the bedside table to open the cuffs around his wrists, carefully pulling his hands out because of how deep the sharp metal had cut into his skin, "Shut up for now, you sound terrible."
"I know," Dakota mumbled in a scratchy voice, "That happens when I scream a lot. What are you waiting for, then? You're supposed to.... Clean me up, get me ready for him, right?"
So, he heard that...
"I said shut up, I'm getting you out," I said simply, and he stared at me blankly before laughing shortly, disbelief on his face.
"Don't be stupid," he said, "You'll put yourself in danger."
Oh, so he realized, "Yes, I know that," I stepped away from the bed when he was free and walked over to the closest dresser, "I hate to tell you this, but your shirt's been torn to shreds, so you'll have to take one of Bay's."
Dakota struggled to push himself up, his arms shaking, "Wh-who?"
"Blu, sorry," I corrected myself quickly, tensing up, "Bay is his first name."
"You're on a first name basis with the freak?" Dakota sounded amused, "Everyone else just calls him boss or Blu."
"Never mind that," I turned and threw the shirt I'd grabbed at him, "Hurry and get dressed."
"W-wait, no. Demi. I am not leaving without him."
"Obviously," I threw my hands up and turned my back to the kid to give him some privacy, "Just get dressed, we'll grab him when you're up. Can you walk?"
"Y-yea," he assured, but a moment after I heard a loud thud and whimper, turning so I could stare down at where he'd fallen.
"You sure about that?" I asked, and I didn't mean to sound so cynical, I did feel sorry about all of this, but I was also pissed as hell it was even happening.
"I'm f-fine," he lied as he stood up and braced himself on the bedside table, buttoning the shirt up, "I'll be fine."
I sighed and rubbed my hands over my face again, "I'm sorry this happened to you... Dakota, right?"
"Yea. Just get us both out of here, please, and all will be forgiven."
"Great, keep up."
Miraculously, no one was in the halls as I dragged Dakota down them and towards the elevator, hitting the button and leaning one hand against the doors as I bowed my head and closed my eyes. I knew already this wouldn't end well, all I had to do was stop, turn around, drag the kid back, but I couldn't, my conscience wouldn't let me, and even if I did, what would Tobias think of me?
No, I couldn't. As the doors slid open, Dakota inched forward, looking apprehensively down the halls as I followed at his side.
"Where... is everyone?"
"Dinner, probably," I sighed out and took his arm carefully in my grip, letting him lean partially against me as we walked forward, "There's never much security down here, believe it or not, and ever sense you all broke in, Bay's been wanting to fix the security. Most of the cameras have been disabled for updates. We have maybe fifteen minutes before they're brought back online."
Most of that was the truth, besides the part where the cameras were offline. They were on, we were being recorded, but no one would notice until after dinner. We did have about fifteen minutes, but they were going to know. This was my last run.
"Great," Dakota grabbed my sleeve, "His cell then?"
"No, not this time. He's in Vinet's playroom," I was actually guessing, but I was confident in my assumption.
"That's not good, is it?"
I just shook my head as I pushed open the door to Vinet's room, sighing quietly at what greeted us. I'd seen it a hundred times before, but it never got any better. My only solace was that I knew Demi was still alive, though he was pale and looked like shit, strapped to electrical machines, IV's filled with sedatives and hallucinogenics, shit to keep him unconscious with nightmares until they wanted to wake him up with steroids or an electric shock to the head.
"What did that bitch do to him?" Dakota demanded in a hoarse voice as he braced his trembling body against the table and pressed a hand onto Demi's fevered forehead.
"Conditioning, is what they call it," I explained as I turned off all the psychotic machinery and removed the IV needles to stop the flow of the drugs in Demi's system; it would take a few days for them to flush out, but he should be fine, "I can't really explain it since I've never been through it, but I think it's mainly electroshock therapy."
"Therapy, is that a joke?" Dakota yanked the suctioned wires away from Demi's head to reveal black and purple bruises, "He's out cold."
"You'll have to drag him out, then."
"You think I can do that right now?"
I punched my gloved fist against the metal table and threw the IV tubes to the ground, seething in anger at how fucking selfish this brat sounded, "Do you realize how big of a risk I'm taking right now, helping you out?" I demanded as I turned fully to face him, "This is the third time I've stuck my neck out for this child. I want you to do one thing for me, and I'm sure it will be difficult, but hear me out. When you get him out, you get him back to the Vidroh, and you fucking chain him to a bed, because I swear to god I cannot afford to keep doing this!"
Dakota shook his head, eyes wide, "This isn't my fault!"
"No, Demi just has seriously bad luck and keeps getting himself recaptured!"
"I can't deny that... I'll do my best, alright? But this wasn't our fault! The base was attacked by Fer-de-Lance!"
I paused in my work, my brows drawing together in confusion, "Who?"
Dakota threw his hands up, "Fuck! They're some new psychotic group dead-set on bringing down the Con Rồng;and the Vidroh! They want destruction, and they started with us!"
"Okay I don't know who they are, but I'll search around later," I wouldn't be able to though, "For now just get out, get somewhere safe. There's a car stashed not far from the back exit," fucking hell, "Really hard to find if you don't know where it is."
Dakota looked surprised, "You have a car hidden somewhere on the base?"
"Yea."
"Why?"
I paused, hesitating as pain broke through my chest, my left hand curling into a fist as my deal with Tobias seemed to burst into flames and turn to ashes, clearing my throat to keep the tears down, "Never mind, just hurry up."
When we got to the back exit, I pointed to the left, "Keep walking until you find a break in the chain-link fence. There's a Jeep just a few yards past it, keys in the visor, and there's a dirt road that'll take you away from the base. Wait until you pass the first town before aiming towards the rebellion's base, alright? At some point, you need to ditch the car."
"Yea, I got it," Dakota looked at me uncertainly, "Hey, this.... Entire thing, it's like you've had it planned out for a while, a long while," I bowed my head and scratched at the scar on my cheek, looking off to the side, "You're trying to get out..."
"Don't read too much into this," I bit out, "Just... go, and please, don't come back, because I don't know how much longer Bay is going to fall for all my lies. Just go."
"Come with us," Dakota said, and I scoffed.
I was expecting him to say that, but that wasn't safe for them. If Bay found me gone, he'd check the videos first, realize what I'd done, and come after us. If I stayed here, it would give them enough time to get far enough away so they could be safe, get back to the rebellion. Was I really doing that? Sacrificing my own freedom for these kids? Yea. Yea I was.
"Believe me, I would if I could, but it's complicated. I can't. Not yet."
"Why?"
"I'm syphoning information from Bay and the Con Rồng. Now stop asking me questions and get the hell out of here before someone shows up."
"Fine," Dakota turned, struggling to get Demi onto his back and looking over his shoulder towards me, turmoil in his eyes, "Just... thank you, okay? If you ever need... anything... look for the rebellion. We'll help you. Okay? I promise."
I chewed on my bottom lip, staring at him for a long time, legitimately surprised, before nodding and turning away so I wouldn't have to watch, "Good luck, Dakota."
"Same to you."