Jake faced Duke and rest his chin against the palm of his hand. "Alright, so here's the plan. When they bring dinner, we hide bits of the mashed potatoes. Once we have enough bits saved up, we begin to coat the bars by where the lock is. Once the bars are coated, nullifying the electric shock, we pick the lock. By then, all of us will be in the open and when the guards charge in, we will use our dinner plates as reflective mirrors to redirect the lasers being shot at us so that the guards get fried to bits. We next steal their weapons and make a daring and unusual escape rescuing the girls in the process!" Jake leapt to his feet with his last declaration of his plan, thrusting his right arm in the air victoriously. Duke shook his head slowly with a sigh. Jake frowned. "Sucky?"
"Yeah. Sucky."
"Damn." Jake sat on the ground again, meditatively closing his eyes as he tried to conceive yet another plan of escape. Duke closed his eyes frazzled--he too hadn't the slightest clue of how to get out and Jake's plots were starting to deteriorate in motive… and method. He cast a glance at Wild Wing who was in the best health of all of them. Unlike the dirty clothes the boys wore, Wild Wing had a clean gym suit on. He sat quietly near the door of his cell, looking up brightly each time the door opened and letting his face fall when it wasn't Lestat.
"Come on, big bro, talk to me!" Nose Dive pleaded with him for the fiftieth time that day. Wild Wing didn't bother looking in his direction; he had hurriedly explained to Nose Dive that morning that Lord 'Xander' Riviero had forbidden him from speaking to any of them and he had to do as he was told. Tears formed in Nose Dive's eyes as he regarded his mute brother.
"It's alright Dive," Duke said soothingly pushing his plate at him, "Why don't you eat some more food?"
"I'm not hungry."
Firmly Duke patted his wrist, "You need to keep your strength up. Finish the rest of the plate alright?" Nose Dive nodded dutifully and watched as Duke turned to Jake. "It's alright Jake, take a break and rest. You're doing just fine."
Grin looked up from his meditation and called to them, "Perhaps we should all take this opportunity to rest."
"That's a fine idea, Grin." Duke said with a wry smile, motioning to the television screens, "Shame we can't get him to play us anything good, huh Jake?"
Jake grinned, "You've got an awful sense of humor, Duke."
"Damn right." Nose Dive joined in, chuckling a little. He smiled at Duke thankfully, pleased that he and Grin were still with them; they were always so calm and sensible. Nose Dive and Jake on their own might have lost their heads just like Wild Wing...Nose Dive looked over at his brother again, suppressing a sigh wishing that Wing was his old self again. He could have been a huge help planning their get away. But that, he supposed, was one of the reasons Lestat chose him. He seemed to be picking them apart one by one, destroying them from within. It was a genius plan on his behalf, and going to be a hell for the rest of the team to match the prodigy.
A large ring was heard as the cell door opened and Lestat strode in followed by three guards, his cloak pulled unusually tightly around him.
"Well, I didn't know it was visiting hours." Duke called out calmly. Lestat strode right up to his cage, ignoring Wild Wing as the team captain leapt up and reached out toward his new master.
Lestat smiled sweetly, sickenly so.
"Hello Duke. I've missed you."
"Lestat... Buddy, come on, snap out of it." Duke said gently, "I promise I won't let the guys kill ya. This isn’t healthy for you… it’s not healthy for us."
"I wouldn't expect you to understand, Duke." Lestat said sadly, stepping a little closer to the bars and slipping his hand inside to touch Duke’s cheek. "You who had everything handed to him on a platter: talent, fame, respect. You who always knew just what you wanted. All you ever had to do was reach out and take it." Lestat pulled his hand back and pressed his face up against the bars, "It's my turn now, Duke."
"You're insane." Duke said with a shake of his head.
"And you're in a cage. Which one of us is worse off?" Lestat smiled cruelly, turning back around to the door. He paused and looked back at Wild Wing whose eyes had begun to fill with tears at the thought of being snubbed. "Well, come on then." Continued Lestat as he walked out. Wing's cage opened and he eagerly trailed behind Lestat. On his way out, Lestat halted and called into the hallway, "You can see them if you wish. I'm not to be disturbed for the next two hours. A guard will escort you back when you're finished." The boys all looked to one another, puzzled, until they saw Molly shuffle towards them. <
br> "It sure is nice to see a girl again." Grin said with a sigh or relief. The guys all chuckled a little.
Molly smiled at them warmly, "Nice to see you all in such a good mood...all things considered."
"We have to be happy," Jake explained, "Because it pisses his highness off when we are."
Molly smiled at him sadly, "You must be having a terrible time of this."
"I know he's your brother and all, Molly, and I know he‘s my lover," Jake began soberly, "But I never wanna fucking see him again."
With a sigh, Molly nodded, "I can't imagine what's wrong with him."
"He's mental, Duke said it himself." Nose Dive muttered, picking at the food on his plate. Molly turned her head to Nose Dive briefly, considering whether or not to tell him about Amber. Finally, she decided against it. He had enough to contend with seeing his brother so stricken.
"You must be happy Grin, I hear you're paired with Tanya."
"Happy." Grin repeated dully. "This is a barrel full of laughs. Whee." Molly shook her head ruefully, turning to Duke.
"Never thought I'd see the day when you were behind bars."
Duke got as close to the edge of his cage as the electrified bars would allow, "The girls, have you seen them Mol? Are they alright?"
"Just fine...and being fed far better than you I see."
Duke nodded, "Amber's been eating?" Nose Dive perked up to hear Amber's name mentioned.
"Yeah, as much as usual."
With a grimace Duke sat down on the floor and muttered, "Not enough then." He turned and looked to Nose Dive, "But it's good to know she has food and they're safe, right Dive?"
"Right..." Dive murmured unhappily, thinking of Amber wasting away in a little cage. Molly reached into her pocket.
"Speaking of food...Jake, take a look at this." She tossed Jake the napkin-wrapped food. "Tell me if there's anything odd about it." Jake carefully unwrapped the food and regarded it for a moment. He gave it a cautious sniff, broke off a bit and put it on his tongue. After a few seconds he spat it out and leapt to his feet.
"Where'd you get that?" he demanded, tugging on the bar of the cell only to get shocked again. Swearing, Jake shook his hand trying to cool the nerves.
"Be at peace, Little one-" Grin began soothingly.
Jake shook his head insistently, "Tell me, is this what he's feeding to the girls?"
"What's wrong with it." Molly asked him gravely.
Jake weakly sat back down, "Trimethanalic. It's a mind-numbing agent." He explained, "Used on certain planets to breed slaves. Stuff's damn near impossible to get."
Paling considerably, Nose Dive asked, "What do you mean, breed slaves?"
"What do you think I mean?!" Jake said peevishly, "Slows down your mental functions, any reflex nerve impulses, and almost completely shuts down electromagnetic communication in the brain."
"Speak in Basic, God damn you!" Grin insisted.
"It turns you into a zombie." Jake said after taking a deep breath, "You lose the will to act independently. Someone on this drug simply does whatever anyone else tells them to."
Moaning, Nose Dive puts his head in his hands, "The perfect drug for rape, oh God, we gotta get out of here!"
"You figured that out pretty quick, Jake." Molly said thoughtfully.
Duke bitterly added in, "Yeah, I wonder why." Jake made a quick face at him before turning back to Molly.
He said, "Yeah, well you don't see it much on Puckworld except in cases of date rape. It's notorious because it has no taste and dissolves instantly in hot food."
"You were able to taste it," Objected Molly.
"Yeah, that's what worries me. He's using far too much. You only need a pinch of it to control a regular duck. It starts to taste like charcoal after you use a good three tablespoons of the shit. This piece of food you just gave me could probably kill someone. I'm surprised the girls aren't dead already."
"You'd think that meticulous prick would know better than to use something like that if he didn't know how it worked." Dive muttered angrily.
"There's the other thing," Jake said sweating a little, "Lestat- Xander- whatever the fuck his name is...he wouldn't use something he didn't know about because he wants the girls completely healthy for his twisted experiments."
"I'm not sure I understand." Grin said, rubbing his head.
Staring intently at the ground before him, Duke slowly answered, "He wouldn't poison the girls, he needs them. So Lestat would only use this on a girl if he knew it wouldn't kill her; say if he knew she had a strong resistance to most drugs and would have to get a large dose for it to have any effect at all." Nose Dive and Grin exchanged looks, very much aware of who Duke was thinking of. He looked up at Molly shaking slightly as he asked in a hoarse whisper, "Whose food was it Molly?"
"Mara's." she answered sadly. Duke shut his eyes tightly and put his head in his hands. The others all scrambled to get as close to Duke's cage as possible.
"Duke, I'm so sorry." Grin said quietly.
Nose Dive gingerly reached a hand out, "It's alright Duke, don't worry."
"I-I could be wrong." Jake stammered weakly.
Taking a deep breath, Duke pulled himself together and sat upright, "I'm fine." He looked to Molly, "We need to get out of here. Can you help us?"
"I'll do what I can...we just can't let him know we're not on his side." Duke nodded.
"Mara...is she-"
"Not good." Molly admitted, "All she ever does is sleep or stare off into space. The girls say she's been like this for a week now."
"That means he's giving her a steady feed of it," decided Jake, "Lestat wants her to stay docile for a long time."
"How long?" Duke asked.
"If he feeds it to her once a day, then as long as he wants… months."
"Keep working on a way out." Duke told Jake, his voice wavering. "Maybe I can talk Lestat into giving me a private interview, get him a little distracted. Molly...you need to get us help. You and Luke."
"Don't worry, I will." Molly stood and made her way out, leaving the men to their own devices with every promise to come back as soon as she could with tidings from the girls.
"His 'Ass-holiness' doesn't seem like the kinda Dude that'll grant you a private interview if you want one. More like only if you DON'T want one." Nose Dive whispered insistently.
"Then we'll convince him I don't want one." Duke said hastily.
Jumping in, Grin whispered, "Get him to think you've got an escape worked out, I understand."
"We can use Wing as the patsy, he's Lestat's little spy now." Duke said with a nod. "The most important thing is that it looks like we don't wanna get caught. Jake and I both speak at least five different languages. We'll talk in those, repeating a couple key words and phrases over and over...like "escape" or "the lock pick". Something that'll stick in Wild Wing's head when he reports our talking to Lestat."
"Even better." Jake added in, "We can say it in one of the languages Lestat doesn't know-that'll be even more convincing. Then when Lestat looks up the words and finds out what they mean he'll have to bring you in and question you or search you."
"Perfect plan." Duke said firmly.
"Think he'll just let you waltz in and out?" Nose Dive insisted, "Suppose he drugs you up too beforehand?"
"Trimethanalic only dissolves in hot food and we only get crusts of bread and some cold gruel." Jake explained. "He'll have to start changing the meals he gives Duke which would definitely arouse suspicion, otherwise we'd be able to see it."
"And he's an arrogant fucker." Duke muttered, "Always was. I'm sure the 'Lord and Master' thinks he can handle anybody now. Anyway, it'll make for a good distraction and who knows? Maybe I can dig up something."
"I don't like it," Nose Dive murmured, "But alright."
"We can't discuss this at all in front of Wild Wing, can we?" Grin asked.
"Definitely not. He tells Lestat everything he sees without fail. Otherwise, how would he have known to move all of our cages two feet further to the right that time we had the idea about the light fixture?"
"Or electrocuting the guards," Nose Dive added.
"Or feigning illness and making a run for it," Grin said as well. Molly sighed and shook her head.
"It's so hard to see him like this. Maybe he never should have gone to the funeral." Jake put a hand to his face and closed his eyes.
"The funeral," he repeated as his breathing slowly became more labored. Duke's eyes widened and he tried to reach an arm through the bars of the cell but the electric buzz kept frightening him.
"Shit, I think he's about to have another episode," Duke said exasperated.
"He hasn't had one in almost a year," Nose Dive said as Jake put his hands on his knees for more support.
"He'll hurt himself," Grin said worried.
"Want me to get the guards?" Molly asked.
"No, it'll be more reason for them to eliminate him," Duke said in a hushed whisper. Sure enough, Jake's spasms became more erratic for about two minutes and then he lay on the bottom of his cell motionless.
"The funeral," Jake whispered. Duke inched closer to Jake's cell.
"What about it?"
"When he went to the funeral, something changed about him. He, he kept waking up in the night in hot sweats. He... He almost took me that night… you know, breaking Lestat’s code of sex? And when he was being aggressive I noticed a patch on his leg."
"A patch?" Nose Dive asked intrigued.
"From a bullet wound. I asked Lestat about it and he had no recollection of where it came from and said maybe he got a tattoo or something but that night when he slept he kept talking in his sleep to someone or about someone and his journal."
"Journal? What's that have to do with anything?" Nose Dive asked, slightly irritated.
"I don't know," Jake answered.
"Jake, you might be onto something," Grin said thoughtfully. "If he was talking in his dream about this journal, then perhaps it's a link to our ticket outta here." Jake put his hands over his face as he lay on the ground.
"Jake, are you alright?" Duke asked concerned as Jake didn’t move.
"I...I'm just a little ill."
"Hang in there, kiddo. We need to stick together."
"Bullet wound?" Molly asked, closing her eyes as she relived the night. "Jake, I think you remembered something that Luke and I both forgot."
"You were there... what happened?" Duke asked, while Jake lay on the ground with his hands over his face, trying to regulate his breath.
"Xan was really nervous and quite honestly we didn't think he'd show up considering how much all of us hated our father. When Xan came inside, he started having a fit because the room was crowded; he had been sheltered and it wasn't only his twin that he didn't know about--the descendants were probably just as evil as Exar. Near the conclusion when Xander was announced heir and successor, he took the journal then was shot I think... It's hard to remember because I took off with Luke, but the last thing I saw was him shooting the support beam to the building... with the rest of the descendants inside."
"He's a cold blooded murderer," Grin whispered. Jake began to weep quietly. Duke inched closer to Jake's cell, once again risking sticking his hand through the bars.
"Hey, hey it's okay."
"If he was able to kill a relative, how long until I’m the next to go?" Jake sighed and shook his head miserably. "I finally found peace with myself and cleaned up my act. I don't want to die."
"You're not going to," Duke said gently.
"It's only a matter of time," Jake protested. Duke sighed and closed his eyes, knowing fully well that Jake was right. It was only a matter of time, for all of them. Despite their year of friendship, Duke knew very little about Lestat's checkered past: his father had killed Lestat’s mother moments after she gave birth to the twins, in his youth he'd witnessed dozens of similar atrocities his father had committed, he himself had been abused, taunted, and finally left to die. Maybe it had all finally taken its toll on him...he'd seen so much death, who was to say Lestat wasn't capable of killing the very people he was once closest to? Nose Dive stood up agitated.
"This is such shit... we need to find a way out fast. For our sake, for Jake's sake... and hell even for Lestat's sake. The guy he USED to be would sooner die than turn into the monster he's become."
"It's all good and well to talk, but what have we got to go on?"
"The journal. It's the only clue." Jake reasserted.
With some disgust Dive kicked his cage, "A fucking book that might or might not have ANYTHING to do with what might or might not be Lestat's nervous breakdown...that's a lot of 'mights'."
"So what?" Jake snapped back.
"So we find it." Duke said grimly, ending their fight, "We find the journal."
Lestat observed Mara carefully through the bars of her cell as she slept. He frowned and ran calculations in his head, his hand in his pocket fiddling with the small packet of drugs he had remaining. She was responding too heavily to the drug, but it had done his job. In a few days, Lestat calculated that she’d be completely submissive to him: the final proof that he could make anyone love him.
Suddenly hit by a wave of nausea, he turned on his heel and walked out of the chamber, leaving Tanya and Mallory to scream at his back. He stumbled in the hallway, taking a moment to lean against the wall and catch his breath. Something was wrong, he knew it as he held his throbbing head. He shouldn’t be bothered by anything, nothing could touch him. Lestat had risen above petty emotions. Then why do I feel so disgusting? Pulling himself upright, he clenched a fist and walked past the suite he had given to his brother to take his wench to. “No matter,” Lestat said dismissively as he walked to his own personal chamber where Wild Wing lay with his wrists tied to the bedposts.
"Lord Riviero," Wild Wing said, struggling to break free, covered in sweat, "I need to tell you..." Frowning, Lestat noticed that Wild Wing's trembling had been getting worse and worse...for the past two weeks he'd begun to babble constantly, even to see things that weren't there. If his delusions progressed much further he might no longer be of use to Lestat.
"Hush now," Lestat said in a whisper as he stroked Wild Wing's beak. "What did I tell you about speaking out of turn?"
"Lord Riviero, it's about the prisoners!" Wild Wing gasped before Lestat slipped his mouth over his own. Wild Wing moaned and arched his back trying to prolong the kiss when Lestat pulled away slowly, stroking a finger under his beak.
"Now what about them?"
"They... they're talking in a language I can't understand."
"What?" Lestat fiercely bellowed as he stepped away from the bed. He flicked a dagger from his belt and held it toward Wild Wing’s throat, slowly touching the blade to his veins. "Who are the ones talking?"
"D-d-d-uke and J-j-j-j-jake."
"What language were they speaking in?" Lestat asked again, pressing the cold metal closer to his jugular. Wild Wing’s labored breathing increased as his body trembled under the restraint.
"I-I-I-I don't know!" Wild Wing wailed frantically. Lestat put the dagger back on his belt and spun on his heels, his cloak flowing behind him. "But Lord Riviero?" Wild Wing asked pleadingly as he pulled to break free.
"I have other important matters to deal with first. You'll get your reward soon enough," Lestat growled darkly, slamming the door to his chamber shut behind him.
"And in 10, 9, 8, 7..." Jake counted down, keeping his eyes fixed on the clock in the room. "3, 2, 1-"
"All Hail Lord Xander Simon Riviero!" One of the guards boomed as the main door swung open and Lestat strode in. He glared at the ducks in the cages and clenched his fists.
"Do I have the timing down to an art or what?" Jake said with a sneer.
"Shut up, ignorant fool." Lestat walked to Duke's cage and immediately the bars dropped. "Come," he demanded. Duke calmly looked up at him, folding his arms.
“Nothin' doin',” he growled. One of the guards lifted an arm to strike Duke but Lestat beat him to it and slapped Duke across the face. In quick retaliation Duke pulled his fist back and punched Lestat in the shoulder sending him to the ground, but before he could get another punch in the guards intervened.
“The insolence,” Lestat hissed. “I am your Lord and you will do as I say, or I won't let you have a farewell.”
“That's alright, I don't need a farewell for you...more like a good fuckin' riddance.” Duke snorted. The corners of Lestat’s lips curled up into a sadistic smile.
“Actually, I was referring to the farewell I was going to let you say to Mara...I suppose it doesn't matter, she's not terribly interested in seeing you again anyway.” Jake bit his tongue and closed his eyes, praying Duke would be able to keep his cool. They needed to know what was going on and if Lestat threw enough of those road blocks at Duke it might ruin everything. Thankfully Duke took it in good stride; he just gave Lestat a dirty glare and did his best to shake it off. But he didn't have much of an opportunity; four armed guard foisted him to his feet and half dragged and pulled Duke out of the room, followed closely by Lestat. Jake closed his eyes and folded his hands in his lap.
“What do we do now?” Nose Dive asked.
"Pray," he said softly.
“What the hell were you discussing with Jake?” Lestat demanded.
“The weather.” Duke rapped out as he walked around Lestat’s room, scanning for any signs of something out of the ordinary. Everything was elaborate, carved mahogany wood, shelves of books that stretched to the ceiling. No photographs, no pictures, no windows.
“You were plotting an escape,” accusatorily Lestat pointed at him.
“If you're so damn sure then why am I even in here, eh?”
“Don’t get smart with me, insolent fool.” Lestat put his hand subconsciously over the drawer by the master bed.
"Insolent fool...you seem ta like that name. You really that strapped for new insults? Me and the rest of the boys have a TON for you if you need any." He shook his head slowly.
“Duke, we could have been friends, allies...you could have worked with me, but instead you chose to defy me. Why? The more stubborn you are, the more I'll hurt you. It’s really quite that simple. Tell me your plans, and I’ll spare you the pain,” Lestat said coaxingly, a sickening grin on his face. Duke raised an eyebrow as he studied Lestat-- was he actually sick enough to kill him? This wasn't Lestat...this wasn't his best friend. There had to be something else influencing him.
Duke’s eyes trailed down Lestat. He'd never had very good posture, but now here he was, straight as an arrow; he could have been cast in bronze. If his shoulders had been square he would have been drawn up to his full height, which was considerable, but his left arm dragged a little, leaning on a small nearby cabinet or nightstand which in turn caused his shoulder to slump. Slump? Duke pondered. Giving Lestat another once over Duke realized that he was standing in a awkward position...why was he leaning so heavily on that drawer? It was as good a lead as Duke was going to get.
“How very thoughtful of you,” Duke said as he strode right up to Lestat, coming beak to beak with him. Lestat eyed Duke warily until he was about a foot away. “What say we settle this right here, Lestat.”
“What do you mean?” Lestat asked, letting his eyes travel to Duke’s belt buckle. Duke caught Lestat's eye and hesitated for a moment...Lestat had at one point confessed that he had feelings for Duke. It hadn't occurred to him until now that he might be in any real danger, but thinking back on it, if he had no qualms raping Wild Wing...Duke pressed on.
"We both know I'm a better thief than you could ever hope to be." Duke forced down the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he said it, but this was probably the easiest way to strike at him. "You were a fuck up. That's why yer daddy abandoned you in the first place. You'll never measure up to me...literally."
"Shut up," Lestat's voice trailed off in a pang of uncharacteristic emotion. "That's all changed now...now I'm the best, I'm the master, you're nothing but a prisoner.” Duke swallowed nervously before going on.
"A prisoner that has everything you ever wanted. I'm first in the Guild...you never will be-never. You could never match me, not even in your love life."
"Shut up..." Lestat hissed.
"Try as you like, pump her full of as many drugs as you possibly can. Mara will never love you, and she never did. It was always me. Bet that's gotta suck, huh Lestat? Waiting for eight years,"
Lestat tried to interrupt, his voice trembling with fury, "Shut the fuck up,"
"-then I just walk into the picture and she practically throws herself at me. What you failed at for eight years took me less than ten minutes to get." By now Duke was standing over Lestat.
"Shut up..." Lestat whispered.
"If Exar Drako was alive today and had to choose between his fuck up fairy princess of a son and me, he'd pick me in a heartbeat. You're not even a secound choice Lestat...you're a third."
"SHUT UP!" Lestat howled, lunging at Duke. He dodged out of the way and Lestat slid across the floor. Duke rolled up his sleeves and launched into a fist fight with Lestat. They rolled across the floor throwing punches, Lestat quickly gaining the upper hand with an intense ferocity Duke had never seen paralleled. After two or three knocks to the head Duke's vision blurred slightly, inciting him to fight a little dirty. He kneed Lestat in the stomach and scrambled to his feet. Before Lestat could get up, Duke shoved the bureau on top of him.
“GUARDS! TAKE HIM AWAY!” Lestat snarled as he struggled to break free from his pinned position. Duke pushed his sleeves back down and held up his hands in mock defeat as the two men prodded him toward the exit, unaware of the small rectangular lump in Duke’s pants-pocket.
To be continued…
...*tremble*...
Toxicity... part V
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