This certainly hadn't been what he was expecting when he called the phone number on a poster looking to hire a caretaker.
The poster didn't give much information, but it said that they needed someone who could take care of up to three children for an untold amount of time. The person had to be fully willing to go through with whatever was asked of them before they called the number listed.
Since school was out for the summer, he needed another source of income besides his job as a kindergarten teacher. This seemed simple enough for the time being.
So he called the number and the person asked him a couple of… concerning questions. Like if he had close family? Did he have a girlfriend or spouse? Would anyone notice if he happened to take a sudden trip far away and didn't immediately come back or call?
He had been really concerned about the last question, but was reassured that it was due to the employer's unpredictable nature. He apparently had a habit of changing locations often. Which was strange. Why hadn't the employer answered the phone? Why hadn't he talked to him to make sure he sounded like a decent person to hire?
The receiver of his call eventually introduced himself as and told him that there would be a car sent to a cafe near his house to pick him up tomorrow at 9 A.M. for a formal interview and hung up.
He was surprised, but took this in stride. The next day he put on some casual dress clothes and arrived at the cafe five minutes before nine. Though, as he stood outside, he realized he hadn't asked the man what car he'd be driving. He was about to pull out his phone to call the number back when a sleek black limo pulled up to the curb, drawing the attention of several passerby's.
The man that stepped out of the car wasn't particularly remarkable. Plain dark hair was swept to the side and he wore a nice suit. The man looked as if he were leaving a formal event or church. The thing that really set the man off, though, was his piercing dark gaze and the confident yet casual way he carried himself.
He was a little nervous about the whole thing. The interrogation, the secrecy and if that man was his employer or one of the people that works with his employer, he knew he was in a lot of trouble.
"Frederick?" the man asked. He recognized the voice as Mr. Green. held out his hand and he quickly shook it. "Are you ready?"
Even though he was still unsure about the whole thing, he nodded and followed to the limo. After they were situated, they took off.
The whole thing was strange and a little unnerving. didn't speak a word as they road to what Frederick realized was an unknown location. Maybe he should have thought this job through…
"So…" Frederick said, breaking the silence. "Who is my employer?"
didn't say anything immediately.
"Mr. Lupton." the man answered after while. "That's all you need to know right now."
"Oh…," Frederick replied. After a few minutes he asked, "So i'm babysitting his kids?"
glanced over at him with a look that sent a shiver down his spine.
"Right," said, turning back to the road.
Frederick decided to wait until they arrived at their destination to decide whether he should get ready to run or not. Just in case, he mentally went over everything he remembered on self defense and planned an escape route.
Thirty minutes later they pulled up to a mini mansion. The front gate was being manned by another man in a dark suit. After the man checked Mr. Green's ID, the gates opened and they rolled inside.
Frederick realized that if something did happen to him after he stepped out of this car, no one would really know. The people at school would obviously notice his disappearance but if these guys were as professional as he thought they were, then there wasn't a very good chance of the police helping him any.
Mr. Green stepped out of the car, closed the door behind him and walked around to the passenger side. He opened the door and Frederick slowly stood. Mr. Green led the way up the ascended the steps to the building. Frederick quickly looked around for anything that could aid in his potential escape.
When they reached the top, however, clasped Frederick's shoulder, startling him.
"Don't try it," the other man warned. "They'll catch you if you run. It's best to play it out, see what they have to say."
Frederick, confused and afraid, nodded and followed the man inside.
The inside of the mansion looked larger than it did outside. At the entrance was a small fountain with a few fake plants surrounding it. The entrance, wide and tall, branched off into different hallways and a staircase across the room which led to a banister with even more branching hallways.
wasted no time. He crossed the room to the staircase and took it to the landing. Frederick was still ambling at the bottom, staring wondrously at the room before he hurried to catch up with the other man.
By the time they arrived at the room Frederick assumed the contractor was in, he was wiping his hands on his pants, eyes darting around nervously. He had no idea what he was doing here or why he decided to something like this without proper information. It really was common sense not to follow through with things like this when he didn't have enough information to judge the situation.
This was all totally knew to him and he knew that by the end of this 'interview' that things were not going to be the same for him.
knocked on the oak door and waited for a moment. A muffled come in was heard and Frederick was following him into the room.
It wasn't quiet what he thought would be waiting for him. The room looked to be a part of a recording studio with a sound board in the room he was in and the room on the other side of the glass containing some equipment Frederick assumed was recording equipment. Sitting in one of the chairs in front of the soundboard was an older man with a slightly large nose and thinning hair smoking a pipe. When they walked in, the man's hands moved to his lap.
"Gary," the pipe man said, nodding his head slightly.
"Mr. Lupton," Mr. Green replied. He nodded in Frederick direction. "This is him."
Mr. Lupton looked Frederick up and down for a moment. Mr. Lupton appeared to be looking for something but Frederick didn't know what.
"Alright," Mr. Lupton said. He blew some smoke into the air. "You're here for the job?"
Frederick nodded.
"Y-yes," he said. He glanced around the room once more.
"And you think you can do it?" Mr. Lupton said. He smiled a little as if laughing at a joke.
"Well, I-I...,"maybe he could…
"Because if you say you can't," Mr. Lupton interrupted. He blew some smoke again. "It's too late to back out. The paper said that once you called you had to be ready for whatever we have for you. It wouldn't be a great start to our relationship if you're already having second thoughts."
While Mr. Lupton was talking, the two men behind him reached for their waist, revealing the sleek weapon hidden there.
"I see…" Frederick gulped.
"So you are ready, correct?" Mr. Lupton asked.
No he wasn't, but what choice did he have?
"Yes," he answered. "I'm ready. It's just a babysitting job, right?"
Mr. Lupton smiled.
"Yes, but it's so much more than that," Mr. Lupton waved his pipe at the glass room.
Frederick hadn't noticed it before, but inside the room were little toy cars, blocks and toy figures. They ranged from wooden blocks to adjustable action figures. A long figure sat among the blocks, his back to the glass. The kid had dark blond hair poking out of a grey hat and wore a white dress shirt with jeans. He appeared to be playing with the action figures.
Another figure sat in corner with their hood pulled up. The light in that corner wasn't great, so Frederick couldn't see anything specific about the figure besides the dark jacket.
Two children sat in that room and now that he's seen them, he's certain that they aren't Mr. Luptons kids.
"Those are the two kids I want you to watch," Mr. Lupton said. "The poster did say three but the last one didn't work out too well."
Frederick felt sick. Not just for these children but for their families too. Were they kidnapped off the street? Taken from home? What happened to the other child? There were so many questions running through his mind that they all seemed to swirl into a big whirlwind until he finally asked,
"Who are you?" Frederick looked around at the people in the room. "What do you want with these children?"
Mr. Lupton laughed, dumping the ashes from his pipe. He stood and crossed the room.
"All will be revealed in time, ," Mr. Lupton said. He looked into the next room. "We just need you to watch these children for a while. Give them support, nourishment, all the things children need to have to keep themselves… stable."
Before Frederick could ask another question, Mr. Luptons expression went dark and he took a step closer.
"This is the job you signed up for, ," Mr. Lupton said. "Now you don't have to do the job. I'm sure someone else will come along that could help us. Though I don't think you know the full extent of our power. When you are told to do something you will do it. Am I understood?"
Frederick nodded. Mr. Lupton, satisfied with his reaction, turned to the window.
"Right now, all I want you to do is to meet with them. Have a little talk, get to know each other. I'll decide your position afterwards as well as your payment," Mr. Lupton held out a hand and Frederick shook it. Mr. Lupton smirked. "Good luck." With that, Mr. Lupton exited the room followed by his the two men and . Though before he left, gave him an odd glance, one filled with a small amount of pity which didn't make him feel any better.
Once the door was closed, Frederick checked the door but it was locked. He looked back at the children. They were in the same positions as before, seeming undisturbed by what what was happening on the other side of the glass.
Taking a deep breath, Frederick opened the door that linked the rooms and slowly crossed the floor to the kid sitting in the middle of the floor.
The blond child didn't notice him until he was standing right next to him and even then the kid only glanced at him, choosing to play with his toys.
Kneeling down, Frederick gave a small wave.
"Hello," he greeted. The kid looked over at him, this time seeming to pay attention. "I'm Frederick. What's your name?"
The kid looked at him for a few moments and then tilted his head and grinned.
"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," the kid said.
Frederick couldn't help but think that was a useless thought now. This kid had obviously ended up here because he did something his parents told him not to do and got himself kidnapped.
"Well, we're both in a strange situation now, aren't we?" Frederick said. "How did you get here? Did they kidnap you?"
"They told me they needed some help," the blond kid said. He shook one of the dolls he was holding.
"So you followed them to help them?" Frederick asked. The kid nodded and Frederick sighed. "What about your parents?"
"They were ordering ice cream," the kid replied. "A man in a black suit asked me to help him, so I went with him."
"Why would you do that?"
The kid puffed out his chest.
"Because!" The kid exclaimed. "It was the heroic thing to do!"
This kid was obsessed with his superheros then. Not unusual in his classroom. Kids love the thought of strong person to come and save the day, fighting crime and rescuing civilians.
"Okay…" He didn't really know what to do with these kids. One seems strangely open for someone who's been kidnapped and the other...
Frederick turned to look at the other child in the room. The lighting was still was a little better so he could see that the child was ghostly pale. He scooted forward a little.
"Hey," Frederick watched as the kid flinched slightly.
The kid lifted his head slightly, revealing a pair of bright red eyes. Frederick was momentarily stunned but, quickly recovered.
"Hey," Frederick repeated. He scooted a little closer. The child just watched him. "What's your name?"
The red eyed child didn't reply. He continued to stare at Frederick as if he were wondering why he was there.
"I'm Frederick and I-."
"I know why you're here," the kid finally said. "What I don't understand is why?"
Frederick had no idea what the kid was talking about. If he knew why he was here then he must know why he was there too?
"What are you talking about?" Frederick asked.
The child frowned and stood up, his calm demeanor suddenly shifting to an angry one.
"Why!?" the kid shouted, his fist balled up. "Why did they bring another one of you here? We already did your stupid jobs so why can't we go home!"
These children weren't making it any easier on him. Frederick thought that if he could get to know the children a little better, they could tell him more about the people who hired him. They might have been able to escape. Now though...
"Would it even matter if they did let you go?" Frederick turned back to the other child and was startled at the blonds change of mood. He seemed, colder now, more… observant. Those blue eyes of his stared up at the other child. He then smiled and said in a sing song voice, "You did say that no one loved you~"
The red eyed child gritted his teeth.
"Shut up!" He glared down at the blond one. "You're one to talk. You have no one to go back to. At least my families still here, unlike yours. Didn't take them long to skip town once you went missing, right?"
Now the other one stood, eyes just as dark and full of malicious intent as the other one. Frederick was confused at the turn of events. These children knew each other? How long have they been here exactly?
"At least they loved me when I was with them," the blond child's smile curled into something oddly childlike and malicious. "Your whole family believed you to be the problem child. They didn't care for you? Or did you forget that your mom tried to kill you when you were five-"
Frederick jumped up when the red eyed child jumped onto the blond one. The began fighting and Frederick was confused about what to do. He reached out and grabbed the hood of one of the children and yanked them back.
Frederick was yet again surprised by the child. Snowy white hair rested under the hood and when the child stood, he yanked hit back on and glared.
"What's wrong?" the blond child taunted. He wiped the corner of his mouth which Frederick was horrified to see blood on the back of his hand. "Can't handle the truth?"
Frederick grabbed the other child before he could make a move to jump the other one again.
"Children, please," He finally said. The feuding kids looked up. "What's going on?"
The blond kid smirked.
"We're supposed to have someone take care of us while the others are off doing business. They've tried hiring us caretakers several times before but it never worked out."
"You mean you killed them," the white haired kid growled.
The blond one shrugged.
"You have too. Don't play innocent. Besides if our caretakers can't guard against us, then what use are they?"
"They're humans, Alfred!" the other child shouted.
Alfred's eyes narrowed.
"If they order us to kill, then that's what we do. You know we have no choice. They'll kill us if we don't."
The other child frowned.
Alfred turned his attention back to Frederick.
"Don't worry. You'll be fine as long as you can dodge our attacks." his face morphed back into a childish one.
Frederick slowly released the other kids hoodie. He stared at each of the children, slowly trying to process what was said.
"Wha-" Frederick swallowed. He looked from child to child, frightened, confused, curious and oddly excited all in one bundle. "You- you kids were kidnapped then? But… What… is going on here?"
The red eyed child sighed.
"It's been over a year since we were taken from our homes." the red eyed child said. "We- we've been… selected for something and they're training us to become the best that we can be…" The child seemed to remember something and gave a small smile and laughed. "Really I should be used to this game by now, but old habits die hard." The kid looked up at Frederick his expression much different than before.
"I'm Alfred," the blond said, fully his peppy self again.
"Gilbert." the other said.
"And I am sorry," Alfred continued, walking closer. Frederick noticed that he was reaching into his pants pocket. He pulled a small blade from his pocket, causing Frederick's heart to skip a beat. "That I have to do this."
Frederick slowly backed up into the corner, unconsciously preparing himself for an attack. The other child pulled a blade out.
"That's what you get, when you decided to become an unexpected caretaker for hit-men in training."
Came up with this while thinking about the Hit-man Jones AU. I've been on the site but I decided to post my spin on the AU.
Some parts might be confusing but there were things I wanted to fit in. Mostly the little bit of backstory I gave them. I might write more for this but right now this is all.
Inspired and based on the Ask Hit-man Jones blog on Tumblr.