I'm sorry about that cliffhanger last chapter, I just couldn't resist. Cliffhangers are kinda fun to write, but I do know how it feels to be left at a cliffhanger. And I'm sorry about the longish wait, really, I tried my best to write this chapter as fast as I could. It just took a while.
Sometimes, Private really hated being a kid and the youngest person on his team.
Now, don't get him wrong, Private loved being a kid more than anything. After all, kids were the ones who had all the fun. And, it was because he was younger that Private was able to be the happy, adorable, Lunacorn loving boy that he was. If he was a few years older and acted the way that he did, well, Private was pretty sure that people wouldn't be as understanding about it. Even now, some people thought that Private was a little too old to like the things that he did, but since he was still pretty young, they didn't bug him too much about it. So yeah, Private didn't mind being seen as a child...well, most of the time Private didn't mind it.
But then there were other times, times like this, when Private really hated that people only saw him as a little kid who didn't know anything. Private may be a kid who liked to look on the positive side of life, but that didn't mean he was completely oblivious to the fact that bad things happened in life.
Whenever bad things came up, Private wanted to do what he could to help fix things. Unfortunately, nobody let him help, because all they saw when the looked at him was some helpless kid, and what could he possibly do to help? That was how Skipper saw him now, and Private hated it.
Ever since they'd returned, Skipper had been overworking himself, a lot. There was just a lot of stuff to take care of at the foster home, and it was too much for one guy to handle himself. Private knew this, which was why he volunteered to help out. Skipper, being the stubborn guy that he was, refused his help.
There were times when Private greatly admired Skipper's stubbornness, but now was definitely not one of those times. Private didn't admire Skipper continually refusing his help, he was annoyed by it.
It was just so frustrating. If Private was somebody else, like Rico or Kowalski, or even Marlene, Skipper would likely accept his help in a heartbeat. But he wasn't anybody else, he was Private. And because he was Private, Skipper only saw him as an adorable little kid, the youngest member of the team, who needed to be protected at all costs.
Private didn't want to be the person on the team who needed to be protected all the time, he wanted to be, well, a real member of the team. One who was just as important and useful as the others. But, sadly, he wasn't going to be seen as an equal member of the team until he proved himself, and it didn't look like Skipper was ever going to give Private a chance to prove himself.
Private knew that if he really wanted to, he could just go out and prove himself, without Skipper's permission. But, Private wasn't going to do that. He wasn't that desperate. Private greatly admired Skipper, and was glad to obey his orders, even if he didn't like them so much sometimes. But even when he didn't like Skipper's orders, Private followed them anyways, because, well, Skipper was the leader, and the oldest, which meant he knew what was best, right?
So, Private did as he was told and followed Skipper's orders, which, at the moment, were basically to do nothing and let everybody else handle things. Private hated not doing anything, but he backed off anyways. After all, Skipper said that he had things under control, and he wouldn't say that if he didn't, right?
Yeah, those thoughts flew right out the window when Private saw Rico sneaking out.
Just seeing Rico out of his room was shocking enough, considering that Rico hadn't left his room all week. That shock quickly turned to concern when Private saw the state that Rico was in. His hair, which was always up in a mohawk, was now down and in his face. Hidden behind his hair were Rico's eyes, which normally had a playful or mischievous, almost wild look about them. That look was almost entirely gone, replaced by an angry, fierce, and scarily determined look.
Private knew that Rico was rarely like this, but this was the side of his friend that Private didn't like so much. The side that scared him. Under normal circumstances, Rico was somewhat violent, unpredictable, and wild. He did things that were wrong all the time, but he didn't mean to be bad, it just happened.
When Rico got like this though, that's when he was really dangerous. Because he still behaved violently and unpredictably, but not so much as wild and out of control. Rico was perfectly aware of what he was doing, and even though he knew it was wrong, he did it anyways.
As if that wasn't bad enough, there was also the fact that Rico was sneaking out, which he hadn't done for months. Sure, Rico had still gone out for walks, but he often had somebody go with him, and normally, it was no secret when he went out. Now, he was most definitely sneaking out, meaning he did not want to get caught.
Something was going on.
Private briefly considered getting Skipper or Kowalski, but decided against it. The two of them were juggling their own problems at the minute. And Private wasn't even sure if there was a problem here. For all he knew, Rico was just upset and needed some space. That was, after all, often the reason of why Rico used to sneak out in the first place. But Private didn't think that that was it.
Call it an instinct, but Private just felt that something was wrong, and that Rico shouldn't go out. Not now, not when he was like this. Private knew that there might be nothing wrong, but his gut told him that there was. And Skipper was always telling them to listen to their instincts.
Something else that Skipper always told them was that the four of them were a team, which meant they had to stick together. They even had a credo that said just that.
Never swim alone.
Private would be going against that credo if he just let Rico leave by himself. Rico was his friend, and friends help each other. Whatever trouble Rico was in, if he was even in any trouble at all, he shouldn't have to deal with it by himself. So Private did the only thing he could. He followed Rico.
Private felt a little bad to be following Rico, without his knowledge. It made him feel slightly stalkerish. But, well, what else was he supposed to do? Tell Rico that he was following him? Yeah, that would work out really well.
Fortunately, Private didn't have to secretly follow Rico for long, only for about ten minutes, then, Rico stopped. Private, not knowing what else to do, hid out of sight and just watched. Rico, he seemed to be talking to somebody that Private could vaguely recognize in the fading light of evening. For a wild moment, Private thought that it was Skipper, but that couldn't be it, because Private knew that Skipper was back home.
It didn't take long for Private to realize that it was Hans that Rico was talking to. But why would Rico talk to Hans about anything? And what was Hans even doing there? Wasn't he supposed to be under lockdown back in Hoboken? And if Hans was out, then what about Clemson and Savio?
Private got the answer to his last question when he saw two figures that he instantly recognized as Clemson and Savio. Private briefly wondered what they were doing, since they obviously weren't they for a friendly chat. Then, Private noticed that Savio was wielding an object, like a bat or a rod or something, and was silently making his way towards Rico.
Before Private could cry out a warning, Rico was struck in the back of the head. Twice. The first hit brought him to his knees. The second knocked him to the ground where he lay, unmoving.
Private let out a brief cry of alarm, which he quickly stifled with his hand. The last thing he wanted was to be found. Private shrunk further into the shadows and tried to figure out what the heck he should do.
Private had followed Rico, hoping that he could be of some help should Rico need it. Now...now things had gotten out of hand. Private hadn't been expecting a violent situation, and didn't know how to handle it. He couldn't handle it.
Not by himself.
Private knew what he had to do. He took out the phone that Uncle Nigel had given him, and quickly texted both Kowalski and Skipper, his message briefly summarized the situation, and that he needed their help.
Private, unlike any of his friends, wasn't afraid to ask for help. Sure, Private liked to be independent sometimes, but when he needed help, he wasn't stubborn or stupid enough to pretend that he was fine.
It wasn't long before Private got a text back from Skipper. Private was expecting the message to say something like they were on their way. Or maybe for Skipper to call them idiots for sneaking off or something like that. What Private was not expecting, at all, was the message that he got instead.
'If you ran into trouble with the Hoboken kids, then why not ask Classified for help?'
Private didn't know how to respond to that. 'Uh, what?'
'It's his job to keep those guys in line. If those guys are giving you trouble, Classified and his team are your best chance for dealing with them.'
This wasn't making sense. Skipper was the kind of guy who would run head first into a situation if he so much as thought that his friends might be in trouble. And here was Private, straight out saying he needed help, and Skipper was telling him to go to someone else for help? That was so unlike Skipper.
'But Skipper, we need your help.'
'Trust me, you don't.'
What was going on? Skipper usually thought that everybody needed his help, and never hesitated to help them...well, sometimes Skipper needed some persuading to help, say, Julien or something. But he always got around to helping them anyways. Why didn't he think they needed his help. Was...was Skipper doubting his capability to help? But, no, that was a crazy idea.
'So, you're not coming?' Private asked.
'No. Get Classified to help.' Skipper responded.
Private groaned in frustration and shut his phone. Alright, so Skipper wasn't coming...for whatever reason that Private still couldn't understand. But, Private still couldn't handle this by himself, and Rico needed help. So, Private did the only other thing he could think of. He did as Skipper suggested.
Private looked at the metal bracelet that Classified had given him weeks ago. He didn't exactly want to ask Classified for help, because, well, it felt kinda like he was betraying Skipper by going to Classified. Private knew how much Skipper really, really didn't like Classified. And Classified didn't like Skipper much either.
But, Skipper had told him to ask Classified. And Private didn't really have much of a choice. So, he reluctantly fingered at the bracelet before pushing the small button on the side. Hopefully, it would still alert Classified that he was in trouble.
Private just had to sit tight until help arrived though, if it even came at all. That was fine though. While he waited, he would just keep an eye on the others, make sure that nothing else happened. There was Hans, just standing there awkwardly, as if he wasn't sure what he was doing. Clemson was by him, and even though Private couldn't hear a word that was being said, he knew that Clemson was chatting it up. Rico was still sprawled on the ground, probably unconscious...At least, Private hoped that Rico was just unconscious. And Savio was...wait a second. Where was Savio?
"Hola, little niño." A cold voice said that brought chills up Private´s spine. The boy turned around and was frightened to see Savio sneering coldly at him. Private backed away, internally scolding himself for letting Savio sneak up on him like this.
"You really weren't supposed to see that." Savio shook his head. "But since you are here, I suppose we'll just have to use you to our advantage." Savio ruffled Private's hair in a similar way that Skipper often did. Except when Skipper did it, it was in an affectionate and playful way. Kind of like what a brother would do. Savio ruffling his hair though, it just felt so, so wrong. Private glared at Savio and pushed his hand away. Savio just chuckled, as if he thought that Private was just being cute.
"Wh-what are you planning?" Private stammered. He tried not to show how scared he really was.
"Oh, you'll see soon enough." Savio said deviously as he adjusted his grip on the rod he was holding. "Buenas noches, young Private." Before the boy could even think of running away, Savio swung his rod and struck Private in the head. And, just like Rico had, Private fell unconscious.
"-ke up. Priva'e, wa'e up." Private groaned and wished that whoever was shaking him would stop. He didn't want to get up, his head hurt too much. Private just wanted to sleep. However, whoever was shaking him just kept going, rather violently too. They seemed rather desperate for Private to get up.
"Stop." Private muttered in complaint. "'m tired. Head hurts."
"Uh huh, bu' 'oo have 'oo ge' up." Private recognized the voice now. It was Rico. But, why did he sound so scared? Were they in danger? Private had to know what was going on, so despite his pain, he forced his eyes open...only to see nothing at all. It was completely dark.
"Wh-why's it so dark? Where are we?" Private sat up, as he shook slightly with fear. The darkness disturbed him. Who knew what dangers could be hiding in the unknown? Private wished that he had a light or something, even just a small one. Anything was better than just sitting in the darkness, not knowing where you were or what was going on.
Suddenly, there was a sharp 'snap' that made Private jump, and immediately the room was partially illuminated by a dim glow. Private looked to see Rico sitting beside him, holding a Glow stick, which he handed to Private.
Private beamed. One could always count on Rico to have on hand anything one could think of that they could possibly need. Private had no idea how Rico carried it all, especially when it looked like his bag had been taken from him. But Private really didn't care how Rico managed to carry so many things on his person, the boy was just glad to have a light source, even just a dim one.
There was another 'snap' as Rico 'broke' another Glow stick for himself. The little light that the Glow sticks gave off did almost nothing to light up the room, but at least they weren't in complete darkness anymore. Now they could focus on bigger worries.
"Where are we?" Private asked as he adjusted his position. Sitting on a cold, somewhat damp cement floor wasn't very comfortable.
"Ba'emen'." Rico answered.
"Well, yeah, I figured as much." Private said. "But whose basement?"
"Fran'is Dei'f." Rico whispered. Private did not like how scared Rico sounded when he said that. He also didn't like the sound of that name. Francis Deilf. Private felt that somehow he should know who that was, but he couldn't remember. Well, whoever it was, he couldn't be good, or else Rico wouldn't sound so scared. And he wouldn't be shaking so much.
As if being locked in a dark basement wasn't enough of an indicator, Rico's terror quenched it: They were in some real trouble here. They had to find a way to get out, now, before anything worse happened.
"Rico, we have to get out of here." Private stood up, but had forgotten that he was wounded. Private's head, which had been aching before, began spinning. Private felt suddenly dizzy and would have fallen over if Rico hadn't been there to steady him.
"Can' lea'e." Rico said as he dragged Private down to sit on the floor again.
"Why can't we just leave? Is the door locked?" Private asked.
"Uh-huh." Rico nodded.
"How do you know?" Private asked. How did Rico know any of this? Like where they were, and whose house they were at. Did Rico also know why they were brought here in the first place? "Have you been here before?"
"Uh-huh. Ol' fos'er home." Rico said.
"Wait. You mean your last one?" Private asked. He had heard from the others that Rico hated any mention of his last foster home and had ran away from it. Well, if being locked in the basement was a common occurrence while Rico had been here, then Private understood why he had run off.
"What exactly happened here?" Private asked. Rico opened his mouth to answer, but froze and looked intently to the right, his eyes wide. He seemed to be listening for something.
"Rico, what's wrong?" Private asked.
"Shh!" Rico hissed quietly, "I 'ear some'in'."
Private focused his ears and thought he could hear something too, like footsteps, and they were coming closer. With each step closer, Rico's grip on Private's arm got tighter. The boy barely noticed his friend's tight hold though, as he was hanging on to Rico as if his life depended on it.
Then, the footsteps just stopped. Things were silent for a moment before the door was swung open, bathing the basement room in light. Private winced and closed his eyes to the sudden brightness. He opened them slowly, to let his eyes adjust to the light. Once they had and he saw who was standing in the doorway, Private couldn't believe his eyes. He really didn't want to believe his eyes.
Standing in the doorway was a man who, at first glance, nobody would be intimidated by. He looked just like any other normal guy that you would see when you walked down the street. Despite the man's appearances though, Private knew that this man was very, very dangerous.
The man was Francis Deilf, and now Private remembered why the name sounded so familiar to him. He had seen profiles about this guy. Many, many profiles, all going on about how dangerous he was. This man was the guy that his uncle had been trying to find for months now.
Francis Deilf was one of C.E.N.T.R.A.L.'s most wanted enemies. Private hadn't recognized the name earlier because most of the time, all the agents called him by his codename:
...Dr. Blowhole.
You know, I wish I could have done a better job with that 'huge reveal' thing, but this chapter has taken an annoying amount of time to write and I just wanted to get the last few paragraphs written and done with. One would think that a chapter that was, for the most part, very easy to write, that it would be finished sooner. Unfortunately, my social life kept getting in the way of my writing...I can't believe I just said that, as I my social life is pretty much non-existent. But it's true. For once, I've had a somewhat busy few weeks. I'll try hard to get the next chapters up sooner, because I actually have a deadline for this story.