And here we are, my lovely fans! The next chapter to my tale!
Some major foreshadowing, FTW. Hope you all enjoy this little addition :)
Dory was awestruck. Mostly at her being in such a big city.
The lights, the sounds, she was in love. She found herself twirling around, dancing in the park they were currently sitting at. Nigel suggested they go and talk before making any rash decisions about getting Nemo out of the brothel. While Marvin just wanted to get his son back, he agreed to waiting it out for a little while as Nigel explained exactly what Nemo went through.
"To put it simply, he's fine. He hasn't been one of the whores, he's just been a restocking boy. True, he's seen things that little boys at that age probably shouldn't see, but he seems like it hasn't bothered him. He's been under the care of the people in Wing 4. I know them personally and I also know they've been taking good care of him. Like they're his second family."
It made Marvin feel a little better about Nemo not being used for sex, but it didn't help him when Nigel said there was more to it than that. That's why they were at a park taking it easy for a little bit. He wanted Marvin sitting down as he told him the rest of the situation as he heard it from Gill and Bubbles.
"I understand this is a tad...shocking for you, sir."
"I think the shock left a while after the anger set in. Now what exactly is there more about that you're not telling me."
Nigel sighed and removed his hat, setting in on his lap and didn't dare make eye contact with the man.
"I was there a few days ago to tell your son you were coming. And he was so overjoyed and-"
"Wait! Nemo knows I'm here?!"
Marvin jumped from his seat, anger gone and joy settling in his stomach. Nemo knew his father wouldn't let him down. Oh this man did the right thing to tell him. But not seeing the smile on Nigel's face made him worried. He contained his excitement and sat back down.
"Yes, he knows you're here. And that's great. He was so happy to hear his father hadn't abandoned him like he had first thought. But I was given instruction not to tell the master of the house this information as it could prove to be deadly for you and your son...if he were to find out someone was threatening the order of his 'possessions', he'd go insane. He won't hesitate to kill you or your boy. That's why I was told to have you lay low for a while. If you want your son to come out of this alive and you alive as well, you'll listen to my instructions. Is that clear?"
Marvin was at a stand still. Here he was, so close to having his boy in his arms again, apologizing for everything that had happened...only to halt at this sudden threat. He had no choice.
"Just tell me what I have to do..."
Nigel stood and said,
"I'll set you and your friend up with a room or two at one of the hotels in the metro for a few days. That way, when you do get him out, you can rest for a while before going home. But all I need for you two to do right now is follow me...I'll show you where your son is."
Marvin stood slowly and called for Dory, who was by his side in less than a second, grabbing his arm. But she wasn't smiling. She must've heard what the problem was and was in every set in her mind to help anyway she could. The look in her eye said it all.
It made Marvin smile at her for a moment. Eventually, they took off with Nigel ahead of them, guiding them through the large city.
It didn't even seem like they were walking for very long before they were across the street from a large neon building. Nigel pointed and Marvin could already feel the strange zibe he was getting from the place.
"That's it?"
"That's the one. One of the biggest brothels in all of Sydney. Owned by one of the worst tycoons ever. I'm sad to know him, but that's life I guess...you two wait here, I'm going to pop in for a second. Sherman knows me as one of his VIP investors, so he's got nothing to worry about. Be right back."
Nigel took off across the street and into the building while Marvin and Dory sat on a bench behind a shrub, waiting.
Dory layed her head on Marvins shoulder and smiled.
"So exciting isn't it? It's like a fairy tale!"
"The hell are you talking about, Dory?"
She bolted up, beaming and said,
"Think about it! The young damsel in distress gets kidnapped, taken to a house of forced sins. All hope is lost, until her knight in shining armor comes and saves her from the masters evil clutches...except Nemo's the damsel and you're the knight. You've gone to such lengths to get him back."
"He's my son, Dory. I'd stop at nothing to get him back...nothing..."
Marvin lowered his head and thought about how all this even happened. It was his fault Nemo was taken. He should've been more careful. He should've tried to save Coral when he had the chance. If she were alive, none of this would be happening.
"Coral...I'm so sorry...I let our son get taken...forgive me..."
"Huh? My name's not Coral, silly. You know that. It's Dory."
Marvin looked up at her, up at her constantly smiling face. Like this whole adventure was just a game to her, but he couldn't stay mad at her. She was a big help this whole time. He was happy to have met with her. He smiled.
"I was apologizing to my late wife, Coral. She's probably up in heaven, looking down on me like I'm an idiot."
"Well, maybe. But she can't be too sore about it. I mean, you came all this way to get your son back. That should count for something. Plus, you can't be angry in heaven. It's against their laws or something I guess."
"Heh, I guess you're right. She would be proud that I came out of my shell like this. I was never a brave guy. So I suppose this whole adventure wasn't full of disappointments."
He barley finished his sentence before he felt a weight settle in his lap with an 'oof'. He looked and saw Dory straddling his lap, smiling at him, teeth and all. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.
"If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be roaming Albany, alone, with hardly any memory at all. Since I've met you, my memories and thoughts are so clear. Clearer than they ever have been. I wanna thank you for that. And for this trip of a lifetime."
Marvin knew he should've gently pushed her off, but he couldn't help but feel comfortable like this. He wrapped his arms around her middle and hugged her back, smiling at the warmth and comfort he had been without for years. He was afraid he'd have to go this whole thing alone.
Running into Dory was probably the best thing that could've happened to him.
She pulled back and grinned at him.
"There we go, a smile. You need to stop downing yourself. It can't be good for you. Smiles are a great medicine, aren't they?"
"Yeah, I suppose you're right."
They smiled at each other for what felt like an eternity. And Marvin did something that he probably would have thought against had he known life was turning upside down.
He leaned in and kissed her. Gripping the back of her head for a deep kiss. What shocked him the most was that she kissed back, her fingers trailing up his neck.
It was a deep kiss, but it was also a powerful kiss. Marvin hadn't felt like this since Coral was alive. It felt nice to actually be with someone like this after a long time. Maybe after this whole nightmare was over and Nemo was safe with him again, he could take Dory out sometime...
"Am I interrupting something?"
The sudden voice startled both of them as Dory squealed and fell off Marvins lap. Marvin had a beet red blush over his cheeks as he looked up to see Nigel standing there, arms crossed and a sly smirk on his face. He stood, trying to look threatening, but the blush on his face, not to mention the blush on Dory's cheeks, said it all. That was embarrassing...
Nigel chuckled and said,
"Oh calm down. I came out here to tell you what I found out. Don't stop your make out session on my account."
"Oh shut up! It was just...uh...well..."
"Look mate, if you wanted to be alone, all you had to do was ask."
Marvin had never felt so embarrassed in his whole life. And he even looked down to see Dory trying to cover her face that was red all up to her ears. He exhaled loudly and said,
"Well...whatever. Look, do you have anymore information regarding my son in there? How was he? Did you tell him I was out here?"
"Calm yourself, man. Listen. Nemo's fine. Peach told me he was taking a nap with Gill when I walked in. And even if he was awake, I can't let him know you're outside the facility. It would make him too excited and it would make the master suspicious. As far as information further goes, I don't think you'll like it."
"That's the same thing you said when you mentioned my son was in a whore house. I already freaked out then. How much worse can it get?"
Nigel rubbed the back of his neck, a sign that it was pretty bad. Marvin didn't know how much more bad news he could take...
"We might have to think of something faster than I had thought. Sherman told me his niece is coming into town tonight. That is never a good thing."
"His niece? What's so scary about that?"
Nigel visibly shuddered and it made Marvin's stomach drop suddenly.
"Darla is the owner of a child labor/prostitution institution in deep Asia. If she were to see your son, she'd buy him within an instant. You'd never see him again. The day he'd turn 18, she'd sell him to a male whore house and that's where he'd spend the rest of his days."
All the color in Marvin's face vanished and he heard Dory gasp out in fear. She then stood and with her hands on her hips, yelled out,
"The hell is wrong with that family?!"
"I don't know. It's how they've always been. When Darla's parents died, her uncle took her in at a young age and he was the co-owner of 4 different brothels at the time. When she graduated high school, she said she wanted to be in her uncles business. So she traveled to Asia and started her own prostitution life there. Eventually, she found that children were the ticket to a gold mine and that's how that started. I don't know how she hasn't been arrested yet, but that's her story."
"And his? He kidnaps people and forces them to work in his whore house! How is that any better?!"
"Sherman? There's no evidence. He sends his men out to kidnap people that have no one. So no one files a missing persons report and he can't be found guilty. Your son though is a different story. I'm a sole witness of all the hell that goes on in there. I could testify against him, but it's a long shot. They wouldn't bust a whore house just because of kidnapping. There'd have to be a bigger motive..."
Marvin felt as though he wanted to choke the life out the man responsible for this nightmare. How could he get away with crap like this. Kidnapping people and forcing them to work as sex servants.
And Nemo...if he didn't do something soon, that's the life Nemo would be forced into for the rest of his life. He couldn't let that happen. He'd rather be dead than have his child face that future.
"What can we do?"
"I suppose if I brought the evidence up with the cops, they'd take it and bust the place. But that's a huge risk I can't take..."
"And why the hell not?! In case you forgot, my sons in there! I'm not about to lose him!"
Nigel then got angry. His eyes flared and it made Marvin nervous.
"Don't test me, mate. I happen to have friends in there. In anything were to go wrong, even a little, he'd kill them all. And I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that happened."
"Well, we can't just sit and do nothing!"
Dory sighed and looked around. These men arguing was getting no where. She looked over to the building, noticing it had tinted windows. That must be so people don't look inside.
She also noticed that the people walking by would look at the window for a few minutes before walking away. Did people not know what that place was? The was interesting.
Without either man noticing, she slipped away and walked across the street to the building, looking it over a few times. Aside from the sign on the door saying "No Minors Allowed', there was no indication that this was a whore house. Normally, places like that would just scream it. But this place said more like bar or adult club house.
Nothing like whore house. Even more curious.
Dory stood properly and looked around, seeing a businessman walking her way. And she smiled.
As he got closer, she stopped him and said,
"Excuse me sir, can I ask you something kinda odd?"
"Huh? Oh of course, young lady. What's the question?"
She pointed to the building and asked what he thought it was. He tilted his head and looked at the door, then at her.
"You know, this is actually the first time I've noticed it. Kind of gives off the feeling of a bar. Why?"
"I was curious. I heard it was a whore house. But now that you mention it, it doesn't really give off that zibe, now does it?"
The man chuckled and Dory looked confused.
"What's so funny?"
"Ma'am, if that were a whore house, it would have to be shut down. It's illegal to have a whore house around these parts if it's not licensed. I mean sure, we've had our shares of illegal ones, but those are always out of the city limits. This place I can tell isn't a licensed establishment."
"How can you tell?"
"For one, the tinted windows. True, you don't want people looking in to see anything, especially families, but there is a limit. Plus, it smells like crack cocaine in there sometimes."
"You've been in?"
"Nah, but a friend of mine I guess has. He's always talking about this place on this street that's fairly secretive, but popular among locals. I guess that's this place. Strange too. This is a famous family road. Why would a whore house be opened here?"
Dory tapped her chin with her finger. This was getting more and more peculiar. Then another question popped into her mind.
"Do you know a guy name P. Sherman?"
"Peter Sherman? Yeah, he's the local dentist around these parts. Why?"
Dory felt naughty for gossiping, but this was perfect. She was getting all the information she needed.
"I don't know how true this is, but I heard he's the master of this place. Sadistic too."
At that, the businessman dropped his briefcase and stared at her in disbelief. She smirked a little.
Bingo
"Wh-what?! There's no way he could a brothel master! I take my kids to see him every month for their cleanings! I...how do you know all this?!"
Dory shushed him for a moment and whispered,
"My friends kid was kidnapped. We've been out looking for him for months now and we have full reason to believe that he's in there. Along with a bunch of other people who were kidnapped over the years and forced to work as sex servants and illegal prostitutes. The reason no ones checked this place is because it's got such a good cover. There might even be drug use in there if it smells like cocaine as you said. And as we know, cocaine is illegal here in Sydney."
The man was shocked, but his tone grew serious as he looked at the building. Then he looked at her. How could he be absolutely sure she wasn't scamming him.
"Lady, how do I know you're not pulling my leg here? This place could just be a bar of sorts. We'd be busting an innocent business."
Dory was growing angry at herself. Of course he wouldn't believe her right off the bat. She looked at the building and, quite coincidentally, found the address carved on the side.
Thinking fast, she looked around for a street sign. The closest one was a long ways away, but she could make it out as 'Wallaby Way.'
….Once again, bingo. She reached into her boot and pulled out the small tag they found and noticed there was something else written on the other side. How had they not seen this before?
It read:
"Come to my hot little secret sometime.
P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney.'
"Here! Is that not proof enough!"
The man took the tag and looked at it, then at the building, then at her, then back at the tag.
"This is his carve work...he's got so much of it around his office...my god...you're telling the truth."
He gave her back the tag and said,
"I'm not getting involved with this as it's none of my business, but you should go to the police with this. That's all they'll need to see! They'll research it and find it's an illegal establishment! Ma'am...I don't know who you are...but I think you're about to save countless lives in there."
With that, he pulled out his cell phone as he walked off, calling his wife and Dory thought he heard him mention changing dentists.
It made her grin. This was a beautiful chance encounter. She gripped the tag tightly and bolted across the street to the two men...who were still arguing.
This was not the time for it. With a big smile on her face, she screamed out,
"HEY YOU GUYS!"
The sudden shock scared the two men senseless and they fell to their knees, panting. Marvin looked up and yelled,
"The hell is wrong with you, Dory!?"
She said nothing at first, but held up the tag. And Marvin's eyes grew wide. There was something about her smile that scared him a little, but brought hope to his heart.
She extended her arms out and with a large tone of pride and confidence, yelled out,
"I know how to get Nemo out of there!"
-meanwhile-
"Gurgle, what are you looking at?"
Nemo was sitting out in the lounge with Gurgle and Deb for the day. The master said something about a big day today, so the whole house was to gather in the lounge soon. They were just the first few there. But Gurgle was sitting on the couch on his knees and staring out the window.
"There's some blue haired woman talking with a suit and it looks like they're fighting about something. He gets kinda frigid for a few minutes before talking back at her...now she's holding up a tag of some kind. Weird."
Nemo rolled his eyes and kept looking at the door. He had a feeling today would be the day Darla shows up and then tomorrow, he leaves his good life forever. His heart dropped in his stomach at the thought of that, but he tried to stay positive about today.
After all, today was a good day. He restocked all of the top 5 halls in under 2 hours (which Chris said was quite amazing for an eight year old), he came back to the wing and found Gill sleeping on the large couch, so he curled up and napped with him for a few hours. Then they got up, ate, Gill went back to his clients and Nemo spent the rest of the day in the lounge, chatting with Deb and Gurgle.
All in all, a pretty quiet day. At least he hoped it would stay that way.
A loud bell sounded and pretty soon, the lounge became full of the inhabitants of the house. Nemo smiled and waved to all of them, knowing they all wouldn't wave back.
Soon after, Jacques, Gill, Bubbles, and Peach all came out and sat with the others. Nemo immediately jumped on Gills lap and waited for Bloat. But because Bloat was the head chef, he was probably in charge of preparing the welcome meal for whoever was coming.
After a while, the master walked in and smiled at everyone as the bowed. He raised his hand and said,
"My children, do not worry about formalities tonight. Tonight, someone very special to me is visiting from her own business and schooling. I know a good majority of you know her, but for those who don't,...'
He eyed Nemo with a slight bit of sadistic glee...it made the boy gulp.
"...you'll grow to enjoy her company. Come on in sweetie."
At the moment, a woman with long red hair in two long pigtails and a black short dress came out of his office with a grin. Nemo's eyes widened. Well, this is not at all what he imagined her to look like. She actually passed for attractive.
She looked around the room and her eyes locked onto the 8 year old. He shuddered and Gill could feel it on his lap. Truth be told, Darla was not an ugly woman. She was actually very pretty. It was her attitude and her personality that scared people. Once look and it was like a cobra was staring at you.
In such speed no one could imagine, she snatched Nemo from Gills lap and held him up by his underarms, staring at him. She smiled bigger and pressed him against her breasts, hugging tightly to where Nemo thought he'd choke.
"Oh uncle, he's adorable! You told me that there was a present waiting for me, but you never told me how beautiful he is! He'll make a perfect addiction to my little 'family' back home. Oh and that hair. Hard to believe it's all natural! I can't get over how cute he is!"
Disgusting was one way to put it. That's all that passed Gills mind as he tried so hard to bite his tongue. His scarred eye was twitching.
The others were just as disgusted. They had spent days trying to think of how to get Nemo out of here...they lost track of their time and now they were forced to watch as she praised Nemo for his looks and mention how he'd fit into her business of child sex slaves.
As for Nemo, it wasn't every day this happened, so he was more embarrassed than anything else right now. Finally, she stopped shaking him and held him up again, smiling at him.
"What's your name, little boy?"
"Um...Nemo?"
"Nemo...I love it! He's perfect, uncle. I'll take him."
The whole room gasped, then fell silent. The people of Wing 4 were shocked she'd make the decision so quickly. There was no doubt about it now...
Sherman smiled and set his hand on her shoulder.
"Anything for my little girl. Tomorrow, we'll get the papers filed and you two will be on your way back to Asia. Sad you can't stay a little longer."
"Oh I know, uncle. But you know how it is. Work and school always seem to come first in this family."
"Haha, very true."
He raised his arms and said,
"All of you! Back to your clients! Nemo, you can spend the day packing whatever you've acquired here."
"...uh...yes sir."
Darla put him down and just before he walked off, he heard behind him,
"This is bullshit! You can't do this, you skank!"
If the room was silent before because of Darla, it was now it total dead silence. Deb and Peach stared at him like he was insane. Bubble, Gurgle and Jacques looked at him like he had a death wish. And in a sense, he did.
Darla looked horribly offended while the master looked ready to kill. Nemo looked horrified.
Sherman stepped forward and said,
"You watch yourself, Gill. I have no hesitations with putting you in the white room for a week with your outburst!"
"No...that'd be too easy for you, wouldn't it, master? Do away with me while you ruin yet another persons life! He's 8 years old! Have you no sympathy?! He has a family out there and you're just taking all that away from him like its just...a broken toy?! I've held my tongue for too long. This has gone too far! I won't let you take him away from us!"
"Us?"
Gill knew he was taking a huge risk speaking out like this, but he made a vow to protect that boy from a future like his. And if he was the only one standing by it, then so be it.
"Yes master, us. As in all of Wing 4!"
Gill's eyes snapped open to see Deb and Gurgle standing next to him, along with Peach, Bubbles and Jacques on his other side. He hadn't expected them to all stand up like this. But the fact that they were, it made his heart burst.
Nemo, on the other hand, was so overwhelmed that they would do this for him. They're risking their own lives for him by standing up to their master.
He smiled and sighed. Where did he find great friends like them...a whore house.
Normally, Sherman would have snapped and had them all killed on the spot. That's what Darla was begging him to do at this point. But he shook his head.
"I'm in no mood to deal with any of you today. Nemo leaves tomorrow as planned. Once he's out of the country, then I'll deal with you insignificant sluts."
With that, he stormed off, Darla hot on his heels. His office door slammed shut with such force it shook the whole building.
It was quiet after that moment. The entire group of Wing 4 were shaking where they stood. Deb gulped and said,
"We pretty much signed our death contracts. You realize that right?"
"I know...you all didn't have to stand with me."
Bubble punched Gills arm lightly, saying,
"We've stuck through worse and you know it. So we'll probably die tomorrow. Big woop. We all made a vow that Nemo would get out of here safely."
"He's right. We all agreed."
"Qui, monsieur."
Before they all could say much of anything else, they heard crying. And in front of them, Nemo stood there, gripping his jacket, sobbing like nothing could stop him. Nothing could.
Through his tears, he saw Gill drop to one knee. He took this invitation and ran into his arms, crying in his jackets.
"You're all idiots! Why'd you have to go and do all that?!"
"Because somehow kid, you got under our skin. You're a part of us now. A part that still holds what's left of our own innocence. We don't want that to fade away. You're getting out of here, wither they like it or not."
Nemo felt himself being picked up by the man and both of his hands were taken by Deb and Peach. They each kissed his knuckles and felt the other men lightly punch his arm. He felt so happy to be in the care of these people. Had it not been for them, he would have ended himself ages ago.
He suddenly felt Gills hand in his hair and he then felt tired, but more motivated. He whispered against his chest,
"Gill, get me out of here."
"Heh, consider it done, kid. Mark my words. You'll be out of here tomorrow. No ifs, ands or buts."
"But what about all of you? And Bloat for that matter. If he finds out what you did, he'll get so pissed."
Peach scoffed and said,
"Hun, leave Bloat to us. He's such a teddy bear at heart anyway."
The man moved Nemo so he could look at them all and he felt tears in his eyes again.
"Nemo, no matter what happens to us, we'll always think of you during our dark times. Sherman might torture us, hurt us, or even kill us, but we'll all know it was worth it to make sure you're safe and with your dad. He'll be so happy to see you. You'll be free from this place. You'll grow up, make new friends...eventually you'll forget about us."
Nemo gasped. The thought of forgetting these people, his first friends, his guardian angel, it terrified him. He cried out and gripped onto Gills jacket, saying no over and over again.
"I won't forget you. I'll never forget you guys. You've done so much for me...I promise...when I get out of here, I'll find a way to get you guys out...I won't let him kill you. I'll help you...just like you helped me..."
The group wanted to tell him so bad that there was no hope for them, but they couldn't bring themselves to do it. Instead, Gill hugged the boy tighter to his chest before setting him down, giving him room to breathe.
Nemo wiped his eyes and said,
"My dads gonna have to see I'm not just a little kid. I can do things myself. And I'll convince him to help me get you guys out. I promise you that."
"Nemo, you can't make promises like that. It might not even happen. How can you be so sure about helping us?"
The boy smiled and gripped the cross around his neck. The gesture made all their eyes shoot to Gill. That cross never left the mans sight. Since when did he give his most valuable treasure to the kid?
But the gesture made itself its own meaning behind it with no words. Nemo made his vow just like they did. If there was one thing Nemo learned from his stay here, it was that true friends never went back on their words.
If they were going to risk their lives to get him out, he might as well do that same for them.
Now the question was...how to do it. If Darla was taking Nemo away tomorrow, they'd have to plan it out all night. And escaping from this place was no easy task.
But Nemo was sure they could do it. Even if they couldn't come up with a plan now, something would happen that would help in their favor.
TBC...