Hello, foreshadowing to it's almighty max! This chapter is going to be short and right to the point. I'd like you to take guesses on what has happened here.
Winner gets a virtual cookie. But I'm sure all of you will get one since I suck at subtle hints.
Here we are!
"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..."
Nemo dunked his head under the water of the bath and scrubbed his hair. It was such a long day. First, he met Darla...that was an experience...of sorts. Then his friends stood up to their master, something none of them probably had ever done before, just for him.
Darla left hours after that to go to her hotel and prepare her last minute travel plans. In less than 12 hours, she and Nemo would be on their way to her business in China. The thought of him made his body shudder in the hot water.
He had only stopped crying a while ago and Peach told him to go soak in a hot bath, and that the rest of the group would talk about their plans in private. She figured Nemo needed some time to think.
He sighed and leaned his head back against the tub rim, shutting his eyes and thought about how his life had turned upside down so quickly. It felt like only yesterday he showed up here, scared, confused, more or less grossed out by the living situations.
In the end, he stuck it out. He made friends here, friends that no other child across the globe could say he made in a brothel. He wasn't disgusted with walking into an occupied room just to restock supplies.
Hell, he walked in on a few of Gill's clients, making it much more awkward, but more...understanding in a way.
And after what had happened a few hours ago, his mind was racing. There was one thing in his mind that made him so mad, it was causing him to shake.
…..eventually you'll forget about us.
How could they have the nerve to say that? What made them think that he would forget them so easily?
Nemo groaned, pressing his palms to his eyes. He shouldn't get so angry at them over that. They went through so much in their lives. More than he ever would.
There was no point in letting in fester. He figured he'd go out there and spend as much time as he could with his friends before Darla took him away.
He stepped out of the tub and pulled the water plug, grabbed a towel and started to dry himself off. No lie, a hot bath did calm his mind a little.
As he got dressed and ruffled his hair with the towel, another thought crossed his mind.
His father.
That strange man told him that his father was on his way to Sydney now...was he already in the city? Hard to say. The man didn't tell him much else.
He hoped his father was here...it would make his life so much better if his father saved him.
Nemo draped the cross over his neck again and gripped it, silently praying his father would get him out of this somehow. Whither it be him or his friends, he needed to get out of here.
After putting on his socks, he opened the bathroom door and quickly saw all his friends sitting on the couches and chair, staring at him. They all looked as though they had been discussing details for a while. Nemo caught glimpse of Bloat, who he had heard a while ago, yelling at the others for their carelessness in front of the master. But he also saw that he fully understood the gravity of the situation and was ready to help in anyway he could.
The boy smiled and stood there, chuckling nervously.
"I uh...didn't interrupt anything, did I?"
Deb beamed at him, shaking her head.
"Nah, kid. We were just thinking of how to get you out of this hellhole. So far-"
"We've got nothing. Everything we've thought of had been a dead end."
"I was gonna say that, Gurgle! You always interrupt me!"
Gurgle rolled his eyes and looked to the boy.
"Have a nice bath?"
"Uh...I guess. I kinda heard you all yelling about me...listen you guys, I don't want you risking your necks for me. Please just forget it. I'll think of something."
Bloat and Peach gave him the look that reminded Nemo of the look Marvin used to give him when he just needed to stop talking. It make him shrink into his hoodie and he giggled shyly. Bubbles waved his hand at him, as did Jacques and Deb just chuckled. Gill didn't say much, but he did have a small smile when he saw a glimpse of the cross around the boys neck. It always warmed his heart to see Nemo still wore it.
Bloat spoke up first.
"I'll be the first to say it again. You all are idiotic for saying what you said to the master. You all realize he has our lives in his hands. He won't hesitate to kill you all the moment Nemo leaves."
His brown eyes turned to the man sitting on the loveseat.
"Especially you. I'd never expect you to say something like that to the master or even his own niece, Gill. You already have a bad rep here because of your clientele. And the master already has your name on his hit list. Do you really want to die? Do all of you want to die?"
Bloat stopped when Peach set her hand on his shoulder. And he sighed. She always knew what to tell him, even when she didn't say anything.
"Look...I know why you all said what you said...and frankly, I would've said it too. Nemo, we care about you. We want you out of this place. It's no home for a child. But as Gurgle said, we haven't been very successful with finalizing something. So, do you have any ideas?"
Nemo couldn't contain his smile as Bloat said that. But even he knew the boy couldn't possibly have a plan in mind. Couldn't hurt to think of something.
He took a step forward to open his mouth...then it snapped shut and he froze on the spot. A sharp pain went up his right arm and it scared him. Never had his arm bothered him like this before.
He gripped his arm, which was now visibly shaking and his eyes went wide.
Everyone suddenly looked worried. Gill immediately jumped from his seat to Nemo's side and lightly placed his hand on his back.
"Don't touch me!"
Gill retracted his hand at Nemo's sudden outburst and could only watch as his friend was shaking violently in front of him. What the hell was going on here?
In Nemo's mind, all he could see was searing white. In the years of his arm bothering him, it had never been to a painful point. In fact, his arm hadn't bothered him since he'd been at the brothel. What a time to feel great pain.
After a few moments, his vision came back and his arm stopped shaking and hurting. He fell to his knees and quickly tried taking deep breaths, once again feeling Gill's hand on his back. Only this time, he welcomed it.
His hearing came back finally and he heard Gurgle yell out,
"Christ! The hell just happened?!"
Gill looked up at the man for a moment, then down at Nemo, who was breathing just deeply enough to speak.
"Kid, what was that?"
"That...that's nerve damage. My mom was shot in the stomach and gave birth prematurely to me. The doctors think that has something to do with my right arms messed up nerves. Every now and then, I'll tense up and it'll shake really bad. But normally, it doesn't hurt. Most of the time, it's just a bit of shaking. It's never been that painful before...but I'm fine now. It passes after a few minutes."
"Are you ok?"
Nemo smiled at his friend and nodded. The man exhaled in relief, as did the others.
Suddenly, a light bulb lit up in Gill's mind. Like a gift.
"My god, that's the answer..."
Bubbles looked at the man and said,
"What's the answer to what?"
And the majority of wing 4 watched as Gill stood up, picked Nemo up and swung him around in joy, much to their growing confusion.
He was also laughing.
"That's it! That's how we'll smuggle you out of this situation!"
Deb stood and asked, with more growing concern,
"Gill, what are you talking about?"
He stopped swinging Nemo around, much to the boys mixing joy and dismay, saying with panting breath,
"Darla can't take him if he has a disease. Remember what master always says? Disease never sells."
"But Gill...Nemo doesn't have a disease."
The man lifted a slender finger and said,
"Ah yes, but Sherman and Darla don't know that, now do they? Terminal disease, medical condition that's mental and non-curable...it doesn't matter! Nemo's nerve damage story just gave me an idea. Think about it. They all have medical records of us because hell, we have to get tested every month due to our jobs. But Nemo is another story. He's never had a check up, a blood test, nothing. Sherman could have someone in here whose got a condition that can prove difficult for his to live up to his tasks. That's where the whole Darla shit comes in. If we make it seem that Nemo has some kind of condition, she can't take him. She'd never risk the health of her wealthy customers. We all know that. There's plenty of things we could come up with. Nemo could have a history of seizures, or...or even Parkinson disease. If Darla believed that, she'd never take him. And yes I know, those things are not contagious, but she still can't use him because those conditions would conflict with his tasks."
The group sat and listened to Gill for about 10 minutes, now seeing why he was so excited about this. And it did make a lot of sense.
Darla was VERY anal about the children in her business. None of them were sick in anyway, shape, or form. All in tip top shape. Nemo's arm problem could prove problematic for her.
That and she was very naive. Especially with her uncle. All he would have to do is see Nemo go under one of his spells and he'd have to tell Darla the sale was off.
It was actually...a perfect plan. But it only took care of one problem. The next was getting Nemo out of this brothel.
They'd work on that another day.
As for Nemo, he could also see why this was a good idea. He did have a general idea of controlling how and when his spells happened. He would normally use them on his dad if he wanted something.
But to force one like the one he had a few minutes ago? He wasn't sure he could do it.
He rubbed his arm and shivered. He would try and do this for not just him, but for his friends.
"Well kid? Do you think you could do another one like that? I mean, if it's going to be painful, I don't want you to purposely hurt yourself."
The boy smirked, a kind of smirk that reminded Gill of Malachi when he was still alive. And it made his heart jump.
"Let's do it then. I'm sure I can force another spell out like the one I just had."
"You sure?"
Nemo smiled at him and winked.
"Positive."
-hours later-
Sherman, as a master of many things, tried to keep his personal life away from his secret work. He had done it for years.
Married with a beautiful baby girl, a huge home and a great job as a doctor...well, dentist.
And here he was, living a secret life away from all that. The master at an illegal brothel, a mistress and a niece who owned a large child brothel in the deepest parts of Asia. And he was happy with all of it. No one knew about this life.
Or so he thought.
He stared at the piece of paper on his desk, which was a note that read
'I know who you truly are. And what you are is a sick, twisted excuse for a man.
Give up now, or the police will be notified.
Anon.'
It was driving him mad. More than mad. He was steaming.
It had to be Nigel. There was no other person outside this business who knew him this well.
How could he be so stupid to trust a man like Nigel?! The next time he walked through those doors, he'd shoot him on the spot.
He crumbled up the paper and threw it against the wall. There was no way this night could get much worse.
"Master!"
The office doors opened and in ran Chris, panting madly and with a look that said he'd seen a ghost.
Sherman sighed.
"The hell's gotten you so scared all of a sudden?"
"It's that kid! He's convulsing in the lobby with foam coming out his mouth! You'd better come look!"
Oh hell no.
Sherman bolted from his desk and followed Chris to the lobby. And sure enough, he was greeted with a sight he really was in no mood to see.
The eight year old he was selling to his niece in under 5 hours, was on the ground, twitching and shaking, white foam coming from his mouth. His eyes were glassy looking.
Peach was already by his side, wiping the foam away and checked his pulse. Once she caught glimpse of her master, she smirked in her mind.
"Show time."
"Master, he came to me a few hours ago complaining of pain in his upper chest and neck. I took a few vital samples and they all say he's got some kind of nerve damage in his right arm. He's also told me his family has a history of major seizures. He tried to take pain medication, but he accidentally took some of those semi poison pills we use on rats. He's not in good condition sir."
Many of the others were gathering to see what the commotion was, only to gasp in horror at the sight. Bubbles and Jacques also made their appearance and pretended to be in horror.
Sherman couldn't believe how terrible this night was going. First that note, now this?!
He was shaking in anger.
"Son of a bitch! I can't sell him to Darla like this! Goddamnit!...I'm going to be out 50k if Darla sees this...I'll have to tell her the deals off..."
He really wasn't sure what to do about this. He could still sell Nemo to her, but she'd defiantly say no if she knew about this. He could keep him, but he'd be in Peach and the other medics care for a while, wasting more time.
It was a hard choice to make. He began pacing back and forth, trying to get his mind to grasp this problem.
Gill and Bloat were leaning against a wall, unseen by the others, quite fascinated with how easy this was.
"I gotta hand it to him, Nemo sure can act. I've never once seen a child commit to this so well. Did you teach him a thing or two, Gill?"
"Heh, oddly enough, no I didn't. We went over a few practice runs, but I'm a little proud to see the kid actually stuck through it...he didn't really swallow poison did he?"
"Ha! No. Peach is a master at medicine crafting. She and I made these little fake pills that when you swallow them, then drink something carbonated, it makes these kind of bubbles in your mouth, giving off a rabies look. They're no where near dangerous for you. Nemo took two of them for dramatic effect and chugged a lot of cola afterward. They kick in about...10 or 15 minutes."
Gill smiled and watched the rest of the scene. He had to admit. Nemo was pulling this off really well. He forced his arm spell up to a painful point, though it was something he didn't want him to do. Then the rest of it was pure gold.
He couldn't help but laugh at Sherman trying to figure out what to do with the boy now. Sell him or keep him. It was becoming an issue.
He watched as he got on his phone and called Darla, telling her the deal was off, that something had come up. And because her hotel was rather close to the business, she was there within seconds.
Now it was just getting priceless. They were screaming at each other. Darla called her uncle chicken shit for backing out of the deal because of a little incident like this. He retaliated with Peach's written report (professionally forged) stating Nemo's nerve damage and seizure history and how it would just get in her way.
Meanwhile, Nemo was laughing in his mind. Hours of practice had made him a natural at faking dead or dying or even unconsciousness. And this was too funny to pass up.
Gill placed his hand over his mouth to stifle his laughs. He didn't expect this plan to go like this, but it was well worth it. Even Bloat was biting his tongue. While everyone out there was in horror of a child possibly dying in front of them, they all knew what it really was and it was just a kick.
They were sure this plan would work. They would keep Nemo here for a while longer as they figured out how to get him out of here. It was perfect.
As Sherman and Darla continued to argue, Chris found a small note by the slot on the door. And when he picked it up, he read it and his eyes grew wide with fear. This caught Gill's attention.
"Master?"
"Damnit, what do you want now?!"
"Um..."
He handed the note to the man, who snatched it from him, opened it and read allowed.
'Sherman, nice to know what kind of man you really are. Kidnapping, illegal business action, even sex trafficking. You even got your niece in this?
Touching...disgustingly touching. Your wife is going to love this information.
I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you things are about to get very...gruesome on your end. Let's leave it at that.
Take a few moments to collect all your sins. Be cautious. You have 90 seconds.
Anon."
"Who the fuck is sending me this shit?!"
He ripped the note into shreds and threw it behind him. His day was just more and more bound to be a clusterfuck.
"Uncle, what did that note say?"
"Some bullshit. Someone knows about us, Darla. They know everything. My sex trafficking, your child brothel business, everything."
The building suddenly grew quiet. The others started murmuring to each other. Peach tilted her head, as did Bubbles and Jacques.
Deb and Gurgle came from their hiding spot upon hearing that. As did Gill and Bloat.
This was unexpected.
"Wha-what? Uncle, who?! No one can know about this! If word got out, we'd be in so much trouble!"
"For gods sake, Darla, don't say it like that! This isn't something similar to getting our hands caught in a fucking cookie jar! This is real shit. The cops'll be all over us if they actually got wind of this. I'll lose everything. Both my lives will be ruined...oh god, Lauren...she'll take my child away from me!"
"You mean Auntie Lauren doesn't even know?!"
"Why would I ever tell her about this?! You stupid child! For 10 years, I've lead two lives! And now, both are about to be ruined because someone some how got a hold of precious information!"
If anger could reach a new level, Sherman was at that level. No longer was he concerned with what to do with Nemo anymore. Now he was worried about the fact that they were all in deep shit...really deep shit.
90 seconds...what was supposed to happen?
As the two continued to scream at each other, Nemo inwardly counted down from the moment Sherman read that note.
40 seconds left...
"Uncle! You can't be serious! You know double lives never work well! How could you lie to Auntie like this!?"
30 seconds left...
"Oh shut your mouth, you useless girl! How do I know you're not the one who blabbed!"
"Why would I turn on myself?! Have you lost your mind?!"
20 seconds left...
Sherman was growing redder by the second. And somewhere in his mind, he just snapped. He pulled out his gun and everyone panicked, screaming. With sudden speed, he turned and shot a random bystander, earning more screams, including Darla.
"Everyone shut the fuck up!"
10 seconds left...
"There's only one way to really get out of this mess. And I should' have done it a long time ago. I should have known this would get too out of hand..."
"Uncle?"
Sherman looked at his niece and pointed his gun at her, earning her frightened look. Even Chris was terrified.
"I'm going to kill everyone in this godforsaken pit of whores. You two included..."
He cocked his gun and smiled. Then, his arm swung to aim at Nemo, who at this point still hadn't moved. Not out of acting, but now out of fear. This had gone too far. Gill and Bloat stepped to make a move, but they found themselves too stunned.
"Starting with you...you little pest."
5...
He walked over to the boy and pushed Peach out of the way.
4...
He pressed the gun to the boys head. And Nemo still hadn't blinked...hadn't moved.
3...
"Haha, dead, dying or neither, I'll make sure you're as good as gone after tonight."
2...
Nemo felt a tear trail down his cheek. And he heard Gill screaming for the master to stop.
1...
Glass shattered as men stormed into the area and shot the gun out of Shermans hand. This was surprising. There were cops storming and shooting, some telling others to search the area. It was getting intense and Nemo found no reason to play dead anymore. He got to his feet and looked around in the chaos for an opening. He saw Sherman, Chris and Darla trying to fight off the cops.
What did he miss...
He heard someone calling his name and when he turned his head to see who, a gunshot rang straight passed his ear. It didn't hit his ear...but it went right passed it and he screamed, gripping his ear in pain. From his good ear, he vaguely hear someone else calling his name. It wasn't the same person, but he felt himself moving and being carried away from the cross fire.
His head was ringing. And he remembered seeing so many people getting shot and killed, blood everywhere. He tried to remember the first person calling his name. Who was it? It didn't sound like anyone he heard from the brothel before.
He caught the sound of a door slamming and he whimpered, the sound pounding in his head. The next few seconds moved in slow motion and after a while, he felt himself in the arms of someone. The smell of ocean based cologne gave it away...
He gripped the mans jacket and shut his eyes tightly, trying to get the pain out of his head. His ear was still ringing and it was probably bleeding.
He heard Gill say something about him getting shot at and how his arm was bleeding as well, but not badly.
He tried to say something, anything...the only thing he could manage was...
"What...happened?"
Gill pressed the boy closer to him and sighed.
"...I'd say a miracle...but I don't know...whoever found out about Sherman and his secret life...just unknowingly put all our lives in danger..."
TBC...
