Chapter 2. Persuasion
John hadn't seen anyone eat like that since his time in the war zones, when they had relieved a unit that had been cut off for over a three months and had been on subsistence rations for 6 weeks, and he thought those lads had been like a horde of locusts.
These kids were bloody starving, his omega instincts made him wish that he had brought more food, but then his professional medical knowledge kicked in and he knew that it would not have been good for them. He watched intently as the older girl Seren helped the youngest ones to eat, and then tried to share hers with the twins but he stopped her gently with a few words. She needed that food too.
They had all looked at him fearfully but she had obeyed, reluctantly but she obeyed.
His heart physically hurt whilst he kept his rage hidden from them behind the shields he had developed as a soldier. They were Omegas and could pick up emotions like radar.
John made no attempt to get physically closer to them, merely sat the entrance to the dark cell and watched them while they ate, and kept up a soothing monologue to get them used to his voice, his calm, kind and gentle omega voice.
John told them that they had nothing to fear now; that the people running the place had been arrested, and they would never be able to hurt them again (he wasn't going to tell these little ones that most of them were dead, and those left alive would soon wish they weren't once Mycroft's teams started the interrogations); he told them that he was with the Police ( he was making it as simplistic as possible, Mycroft and his "minor position in the Government" and his professional squads of Alphas and Betas was a tale too complex for this situation, sometimes he wasn't even sure he understood it himself).
He told them again and again that they had nothing to fear now, each time inserting a little more information so that they could deal with it in small manageable chunks.
He told them he was a Doctor and there were other nice lady Doctors who would help them and that they had nothing to fear, and every time he told them that they had nothing to fear, his sweet smile widened for them and in his mind he pictured the dead face of one of the bastards that had hurt these children and saw himself put bullet after bullet into that face until it was obliterated and what was left was just an indistinct mass of blood and bone and brain and shredded skin, and his breathing stayed even and his emotions never leaked and only registered as calm and kind with the little Omegas.
Now and again one of the children would sneak a look at him but gradually they had started to relax in his presence and when one of the twin boys actually let out a surprised burp, their startled giggles made John smile with an odd sort of relief.
Lestrade grinned at the monitor, ignoring the sting in his eyes and he felt Mycroft relaxed slightly next to him. Lestrade knew his mate intimately but no-one else would have noticed, except for Sherlock and John.
Lestrade sighed with relief now that John was slowly and surely convincing them to trust him enough to leave that damn cell. If Lestrade had his way personally he would raze this place to the ground in a heartbeat, but he was too professional to let that happen because they still had so much to learn about this abomination and the scum who had run and profited from it.
Mycroft's assistant came to stand beside him and murmured something in his ear about an emergency meeting with the Home Secretary. Greg raised his eyebrow without taking his gaze from the monitor. Mycroft snorted dismissively and told her to inform the Minister that it was not convenient. Greg grinned unseen when he realised that Mycroft did not actually give her a time when it would be convenient. The beautiful Beta remained impassive as she nodded her comprehension but a small smirk crossed her lips as she walked away to do her Boss's bidding.
This slow coaxing had taken John longer than he had initially thought, but he didn't care, the whole operation could wait on the convenience and well being of these kids and he would personally and physically take umbrage with any one who complained about it. John had finally convinced the wary trembling kids to leave the sanctuary of their known environment, that horrific cell and take the terrifying step of trusting him enough to follow him out into the unknown
John led the children slowly down the corridor toward the corner, that would lead to the medical teams, Seren still carrying the little boy Matty, and the others clinging to her like limpets so they could only walk as quickly as Seren could manage under the burden, but she and they refused to have it any other way.
The children would not accept John's offer to carry or hold or help, even though he could see how tired the girl was and how much of a physical strain she was enduring to move.
As they cleared the corner, the children came to an abrupt halt, eyes wide with fear and trying to stifle their whimpers.
"Fuck it, I told them to stay out of the way" John thought angrily, as he saw the Alpha team lounging against the corridor walls, obviously waiting for instruction and Mycroft, Lestrade and Sherlock who were talking quietly amongst themselves.
The sound of the children's' indrawn breaths were as loud as a shout to John's ears and they hit the sensitive hearing of the Alphas at the same time.
John glared at them as they all turned to stare at the petrified kids, he saw Lestrade wince, roll his eyes with dismay and then send him an apologetic glance; he saw Sherlock focus on the children like a laser and Mycroft stiffen as he turned immediately to issue orders which were designed to remedy the situation.
The security team came to attention, instinctively taking a step towards the children but stopping in shock as the little girl screamed in terror. There was a terrible silence but before anyone could react, the tall uniformed Alpha who was nearest to the kids dropped to his knees before them. The children looked at him in astonishment, as did the rest of the men behind him.
The tall lanky young man slowly slid off his helmet, revealing longish light brown hair, and he then pushed his gun behind him out of sight.
"Hey," he said softly, keeping his green eyes on the ground too "did the uniform scare you?" as he slowly also took off the flak jacket and slid that away as well, he continued apologetically
"My little Omega brother Adam, he hates my uniform and forgets it's me underneath it"
He grinned at them without raising his eyes, his posture totally submissive, he was resting on his heels and had his hands clearly in sight on his thighs
"My name is Sam, but Adam calls me Sammy and I am really, really sorry I scared you"
John admired the clever young Alpha's quick thinking; he now had the children's total attention.
The children were confused even further, how could this big Alpha have an Omega name and they watched him with fascination as he tilted his head slightly so he could see from under his eyelashes the little girl who had screamed peeking at him from the older girl's side, "What's your name princess?" he asked tenderly, his deep Alpha voice soft and playful.
The little girl looked up at the older girl she was clinging to for reassurance, but it was one of the twins that answered him in a fascinated low voice "Her name is Jenny".
Sammy's smile widened and he purred gently at her
"What a pretty name for a pretty princess", then he asked humbly "Pretty Princess Jenny will you let me make it up to you?"
The children looked at him with wary curiosity and the rest of the adults couldn't take their eyes off what was happening. John caught the small impressed smile on Lestrade's face and Mycroft's assessing look from the young Alpha to the children.
Sherlock stared at the developing scene as if he was studying it under his microscope.
Sammy continued smiling "Adam only properly forgives me after we've played a game, he likes playing horsey. I make a great horse." He enthused happily; totally unselfconscious in his role as playmate as if the big bad security professional alpha with a weapon who had personally nailed and body bagged three of the evil bastards running this place when they had cleared the perimeter and raided the facility never existed.
Suddenly he leant forward so that he was on his hands and knees and he neighed and blew through his lips.
Jenny giggled, so did the twins, the toddler, in Seren's arms, chuckled infectiously and a small laugh was even surprised out of the exhausted and stressed out Seren.
John decided that the lad was a bloody genius, his antics were calming the children's fear and they weren't taking any notice of the other Alphas who were staying perfectly still and allowing their young colleague to continue.
Some of them had smiles on their faces when they heard the sound of the children's laughter, and the laughter caused them to relax further, reducing the level of aggression they were subconsciously emitting despite the orders they had previously received.
Mycroft watched the young Alpha and decided he had a great deal of potential, and there would definitely a gift on the way to the boy's young brother.
"Pretty Miss Jenny, would you like a ride on the horsey" the young Alpha grinned at her, but he still refused to meet her eyes, she turned her head shyly into Seren's side and refused to answer him. Seren opened her mouth, but Sammy continued
"Well how about your brothers get on too so you won't fall off, and you can ride the horsey so you don't get tired walking with Dr Watson"
John looked at him in respectful amazement, was the lad actually going to carry them on his hands and knees to the medical facilities?
Jenny raised her head again, and John could actually see the longing on the little girl's face. When was the last time they had been allowed to play like little kids?
John suppressed the rage that wanted to erupt, because he knew it would disrupt the fragile balance of these children's emotions. He had just got them to the point where they were beginning to trust him. If he let rip the way he wanted to, they would be screaming as they fled from him.
Seren murmured something encouraging gently to the boys and the braver of the two; Benny took a hesitant step towards the Alpha "horsey".
Sammy grinned encouragingly up at him, making sure his body was lower than the nervous young lad's head "My first brave rider, climb aboard mate, oh no where's the reins, how can you tell me where to go if we don't have reins" he stated solemnly
The big Alpha didn't take his focus away from the child beside him but his right arm shot out to the side and he made a silent "gimme" gesture with his hand, when he received no response, he repeated the gesture impatiently.
Seren watched the by-play cautiously, she knew the other children were too fascinated by the entertaining Alpha kneeling at their feet, but she was responsible for them and she had to watch everything in case there was danger, in case they had to run.
The other uniformed Alpha's started to pat themselves down in a desperate attempt to find something, one of the three Alphas' in suits, the one with the pretty silvery hair put his hand to his neck, and frowned with disappointment, he turned to look at the tall thin younger man with dark curly hair beside him, and frowned again.
Seren was confused what was he looking for? But before he could turn to the tall elegant man with the umbrella on the other side of him, the man hooked his umbrella on his arm and began to undo his impeccable tie. He noticed her watching him, and his bland expression seemed to gentle as he raised one eyebrow, still removing the tie from his neck. She felt the power of his gaze and suddenly knew he was one of the most dangerous Alphas in the room and he wasn't even carrying a weapon. She dropped her eyes in sudden fright and concentrated on the "horsey" Alpha's outstretched hand.
Suddenly the tie was dropped into the kneeling Alpha's hand and he made great play of getting Benny to put the reins on the "horsey".
Little Jenny had watched fascinated as Benny had finally plucked up the courage to sit on the Alpha's back, and the "horsey" had gently jiggled him up and down until he had started to giggle, then the "horsey" started to crawl slowly along the corridor.
The other children started to follow John imagined that the children of Hamlyn probably followed the Pied Piper the same way.
Finally Jenny had succumbed to the lure of the riding the "horsey" too, and sat in front of Benny holding the soft reins, as the little group made its way slowly down the corridor towards the medical facilities.
John had thrown a relieved look back at the remaining members of his family, but had made no comment other than to gently encourage the children forward.
As the rest of the Alphas watched the little procession carefully, Sherlock turned to his older brother and suddenly smirked with wicked glee.
"That tie was the most expensive handmade seven fold silk tie in your collection Mycroft, and it is now stuffed into the mouth of the children's horsey"
Lestrade snorted with laughter but quickly tried to suppress it as he saw his mate's unimpressed expression, but it was Mycroft's turn to smirk when his assistant glided up beside him, and proceeded to arrange the exact duplicate of the tie around his collar so that he was once again perfectly presented. "It always pays to be prepared in an emergency gentleman" his rich smooth voice intoned.
AN:
A seven fold silk tie is one that has been made from one piece of material and folded seven times. It is of course expensive, and would be ruined by saliva !
Disclaimers:
No infringement intended.