A/N and Warning: This is one of those lengthy chapters with a lot of detail. Hopefully it keeps pace. This chapter gets a little sexual in nature - I didn't think it's enough for a M rating based on what I've written before, but please let me know if you feel it should be; I can always change it. Please review - I love feedback.
Chapter Three
Sage knew he'd been drugged shortly after waking. One of the first fleeting memories he had managed to grasp was the prick of the needle against his neck before blacking out during the fight. Halo healed fast but whatever they'd hit him with was potent and he was struggling to pull out of the abyss. After hanging in the dark room for what felt like hours, his mind finally started working again and he was able to put some focus into his current situation.
He was being held upright by his wrists and it didn't take much struggling to deduce that it was the sharp metal of handcuffs holding him captive to the ceiling above, biting tightly into his skin. His feet were touching the ground, but with the drug still pumping through his system, his limbs were too weak to get leverage to stand on his own accord. He hung still, waiting for his muscles to awaken further while he observed his surroundings.
The room was very dimly lit, but he could make out the outlines of crates scattered about the concrete floor and lining the walls. Part of the wall to his left was crumbling with age, leaving a large hole in the structure. Directly across from him was a door that hung loosely upon aged hinges. And, beyond that, the steadily growing sound of voices.
Sage once again attempted to get his feet under him – wanting to be at his best, well at least standing on his own power, before facing his captors again – but his muscles refused to cooperate and he felt the sharp yank against his shoulders as his weight settled back into the cuffs. Sage huffed in frustration just before the door rocked open. A light was flicked on causing Sage to flinch.
Five men entered the room, each one holding a focused, appraising gaze on Sage before they started speaking hastily in Khmer.
"He's too old. We won't make any profit on this one."
"We will. We just have to advertise for his unique features – find the right clients. There are plenty who will pay."
"He does have an exotic look with those grey eyes and blonde hair. How old is he?"
"Let's find out."
A larger man with broad shoulders stepped forward, an ecstatic smile on his face. Sage immediately recognized him as the man he bumped into when they first arrived in Phnom Penh. This time, rather than a well pressed business suit, he wore a wrinkled tee and cutoff jeans. The man seemed to have no regard for personal space as he got too up close for Sage's liking.
"My beautiful Angel." The stranger spoke possessively, just barely above a whisper as he stroked a hand through Sage's blonde locks. He then placed a hand on either side of Sage's face, ensuring eye contact with the teen. "How old are you?"
Sage managed a cold, snarl and kept his mouth firmly closed, refusing to answer.
"You going to make me much money Angel," the man continued talking in broken English. "Boss thinks you too old but will show him. How old my angel?"
'Angel?' Sage thought. 'What is wrong with this guy?' Sage found enough leverage in his neck to jerk his head back but the man's hands tightened and pulled him right back before giving him a back-handed slap that split the corner of Sage's lip. "How old?" He demanded again.
Not since his captivity with Talpa had Sage felt so helpless. Between the drug holding his body hostage and the peering, expectant eyes of his assailants he just wanted to be left alone – give the drug a chance to run its course so he could escape – and the only way that might happen is if he answered their questions.
Sage coughed slightly, trying to get his vocal cords working again and ground out, "15" through clenched teeth.
"Good Angel." The man responded as though praising a puppy and let his hand roam back through Sage's hair very gently. "You listen to me. Mine now."
The words made Sage shiver. Just what the Hell had he gotten involved in?
After being forced to speak, Sage's tongue felt lighter and he managed to form his own words to counter his captor. "I belong to no one. Who are you and where am I?" He responded sternly, voice dry from dehydration.
"No talk." Was the man's answer as he continued to paw at the fettered teenager.
Halo's advanced healing had finally caught up to the drugs and Sage could sense the sudden return of strength back in his legs. Perfect timing.
Just as the stranger leaned forward to plant a kiss on Sage's forehead, the teen sprung up and kicked him squarely in the chest. The blonde realized for the first time at that moment, his shoes and socks had been removed, causing the soles of his feet to sting slightly from the impact.
The man flew backward, shattering one of the crates against the far wall. The attack wasn't as hard as Sage had hoped but it was enough to do some damage and let his assailants know he wasn't in the mood for being treated like some pet.
Sitting up dumbfounded, the stranger rubbed a hand against his aching head. The other men in the room seemed to form mocking phrases as they laughed heartily over their friend's predicament. Not so amused, the man shrugged off any soreness while rising and making his way to one of his comrades. He held out his hand, requesting something.
The object given to Sage's attacker caused a cold chill to run through the teen. He stared at the filled syringe as his attacker advanced again. This time though, Sage was ready and got both feet under him in a fighting stance. Even without the use of his hands, he could put up one Hell of a fight; and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to put up a fight over being drugged a second time.
His attacker limped over, still feeling Sage's first advance and kept his distance for a moment, calling out a command in Khmer. There was movement from the other four men then. Three moving in to surround the teenager while one hung back near the corner of the room.
"Get the fuck away from me." Sage stated in his most commanding voice, trying for intimidation but his captors didn't seem phased by his temperament.
"Bad language Angel. You will need taught." Was the response.
One of the men was just getting within range and Sage steadied himself to kick out again, but before he could, there was a loud clanking sound and a sharp pull at his wrists, raising his body up higher from the ground. Out of the corner of his eyes, Sage realized the man who hung back was operating a pulley system that took the teen's body completely off the floor. His already tender wrists screamed with pain as they held up all of Sage's weight.
Now, a few inches off the ground, Sage had no leverage, and the three men advanced without hesitation. The teenager swung his legs out but two of the men merely grabbed each leg and held them together while the third came around behind Sage to hold his torso still.
Unable to move, Sage watched in fear as the broad man, now holding up the syringe, moved in for the plunge. The needle lit a fire in Sage's neck as the chambers contents were emptied. The teenager let out a string of swear words that were holey uncharacteristic of their speaker.
His attacker removed the needle and frowned, not seeming to like Sage's foul mouth and moved to a nearby crate to seek out some rags that would stem the stream of disrespectful language. The three men holding Sage, seemed to be satisfied that the teen was subdued and left the room hastily – the pulley operator followed shortly after his comrades.
Now Sage was left alone with the possessive, burly man who wouldn't stop calling him Angel. The drug pulsing in his system now wasn't the same as the concoction used before. Sage's mind was still fairly clear and he didn't feel at all like passing out. Unfortunately, this serum seemed to be meant not for his consciousness, but for his physical cooperation. Sage had lost the complete use of his limbs and hung limply in the handcuffs, barely able to keep his head up.
The stranger had been observing Sage's surrender to the drug and once he was confident there would be no counter attack, he moved forward. The man held the teen's jaw open to stuff one of his rags inside and once that was in place, tied a second rag over Sage's mouth, knotting it behind the boy's head securely.
Sage tried to form a sentence against the gag but only jumbled syllables and grunts passed through the thick cloth. He felt the man's hands snaking over his torso and up his arms and wished he could do anything to make the skeevy feeling go away, even if unconsciousness was the answer; but as it was, he just had to endure the contact.
"Better Angel, better. So pretty." The man's countenance was once again happy, almost giddy as the situation was going his way. After placing a kiss on the teenager's cheek, he pulled a blade from his back pocket; and Sage watched warily as the man began slicing through the thin cloth of his t-shirt.
Within moments, Sage's tattered shirt fell away to reveal his bare chest, toned from years of martial arts training. The teen tried moving again, but there was no response from his muscles. The man took a moment to stare hungrily at Sage's flesh before advancing again. Only this time, his hands fumbled with the button and zipper of the boy's jeans.
Sage tried to speak through the gag again in protest but could not communicate any better than before. His pants slid down easily before dropping to a heap below his feet, leaving only his green boxer shorts to keep any modesty. Sage clenched his eyes closed, blushing in embarrassment at his helplessness.
"So, so pretty," the man spoke again, "And all mine Angel. You will make customers very happy." The roaming hands were back and Sage couldn't help the stray tear that trailed his cheek as the man's words finally sunk in. Sage was usually quick on the uptake but now had to face what he'd been denying since the man first spoke. This wasn't about ransom or just one man's delusions. He was going to be bought and sold for the sexual pleasures of whoever wanted a turn with him. The drug would keep him cooperative and unable to fight back. He'd heard about this sort of illegal activity before on news specials.
The man used his bulk to lift Sage further off the ground and unhooked the handcuffs from the pulley system. He shifted the teen's unresisting body onto his shoulder and moved into the dark hallway. On their way, they passed many rooms and many young children, mostly girls. Each seemed to be content with what was happening and curious about the new occupant in the building. A couple girls that couldn't have been more than 10 years old followed the two guys through the twisting halls until they arrived at an unoccupied bedroom.
Very gently, the man flipped Sage off of his shoulder and onto the bed to lie on his back. He seemed to notice the unshed tears in the teenager's eyes and cooed reassuring words to him like he was one of the little girls occupying the building, obviously, a brothel. The little girls crouched in close, smiling at Sage and speaking in Khmer. Some even climbed up on the bed to touch his pale skin and blonde hair. They had probably never seen anyone with looks like his own. It was a stark comparison to their dark hair and brown skin.
The man got up then and disappeared into the hall, leaving Sage alone with only the staring, wide-eyed children. The teenager felt a strong urge to save these kids – it was part of his nature and he would gladly use the armor of Halo to do so if his armor orb hadn't been knocked from his hand during the fight. His friends would find him, he was sure of that. He would get his vengeance on this evil and free these poor young souls from it. If he could just focus on that, he could survive any tortures this place had in store.
In stark contrast to the dilapidated walls and overall sense of filth, the bed Sage had been placed on was remarkably clean. Adorned with what felt like silk sheets in a calming turquoise color and bright pink pillow cases above his head. The room was cleaned up, with child toys in their proper places on shelves. He could almost imagine that he was simply laying in his little sister's room.
All too soon, Sage's captor returned and instructed all the young children to leave the room. He closed the door behind them and Sage could hear giggling from the hall as they scattered. Sage could guess what was about to happen and assumed the girls were just as aware even if they didn't realize how inherently wrong it was for any of them to be experiencing such things at their age.
Sage clenched his jaw and stared up at the ceiling. Ready for whatever came next. He was still a virgin but old enough to know how sex and raped worked. His hope was that his logical mind could keep the emotional part of things locked far away. To his surprise, the man merely sat on the bed next to him, still with appraising eyes, but not making any advances. The lack of activity made Sage more nervous.
The man smiled and placed a few items he had in his hands on the bed. The first was a rope which he gently tied to Sage's handcuff chain before moving his arms up and connecting them to the headboard. The teenager had suspected he would be restrained again – the drug wouldn't last forever, thankfully. He was counting on the drug wearing off for his next escape attempt and if the wood of the headboard was as week as the walls of the building, it would be quite easy to break free.
The other object the man had appeared to be a lotion bottle and he pulled that up next. Sage soon found out that it was in fact a thick paint and the man took great care to start rubbing it into the skin of the teen's arms. He continued the process until satisfied that the limbs were covered and then continued down to Sage's chest and then legs. His boxers were not touched. The man then turned Sage's unresponsive body to his side so he could spread the paint over his back as well.
While being manhandled, Sage was able to catch sight of his sticky covered skin. Glitter. Gold glitter was everywhere. 'Okay,' Sage thought while rolling his eyes, 'this guy is taking the Angel thing way to seriously.'
When finished, the man moved Sage to his back again and looked proudly over his work. The glitter made the boy look years younger – more appealing to his usual crowd of clients, and to his own desires. He moved to use the third item he brought with him – a cell phone – and snapped several shots of the helpless teenager. Sage tried in vain to swallow his shame over the situation, wondering just how many people would see those photos – hopefully no one he knew.
When Sage's captor was done, he placed the paint and phone on a high shelf and settled himself on the bed, spooning up against the teenager. Sage wanted to crawl out of his skin as the man's hands traveled over him possessively, hot breath on his neck and face as he felt the man's arousal against his thigh. Still unable to move under the power of the drug, Sage could do nothing as those roaming hands did move to the waistband of his boxers and beneath.
