A/N: As I (Writer With Sprite) post this in my dress outfit, I ask you to wish both me and Torn Apart Paper Dinosaur luck on our interviews today! We're posting this as a gift, because we got 16 reviews last chapter and we promised we'd post early. Have a great day you guys and ladies!
"Maybe we should separate them," Matt remarked to Ben as he glanced at the two. "Or put them in private rooms or something. Clearly they aren't ready to mix with the general population just yet, we'd better train them first."
"I agree. They would obviously start yelling out absurd remarks about escaping and breaking rules, and we cannot have that. I say give them one week, if they aren't trained by then, you have free reign to do as you please with them."
Monotaro's heart stopped. "No... Please... I'm sorry..." He began to cry in earnest this time. "N-Nick... I'm s-s-sorry..." A tear rolled down his cheek as he huddled against the corner of the room.
"So... do you want to punish Cub or Monotaro first?" Matt asked, an evil grin on his face. "Punishment is all yours, go ahead."
Ben bit his lip and thought for a minute. Deciding Matt was less likely to hurt Alex because Ben now owned him, he snapped a brisk, "Monotaro, come with me," and walked out of the room.
Monotaro swallowed and glanced at Alex before walking out at the door. When the two were alone in the room Monotaro started. "My name is Niles. Not Monotaro. I am Nick's son legally. He adopted me. I'm not a slave anymore. You aren't my owner. That's what Nick told me to tell you when I saw you again."
At least he wouldn't be punished by Nick when he got back. Or at least he hoped he would get back.
Ben smirked before he then punched him in the gut. As Monotaro cried out in shock, he slapped him. "Now you listen here, Monotaro-"
"Niles! That's what Nick said and he's my owner right?" Monotaro asked as he curled up into himself. He didn't know what to do.
"No, actually you're wrong. You see Matt is your owner. After all, your own mother sold you to him."
Monotaro allowed another tear to slip down his cheek. "B-ut... he s-sold me to Nick..."
"No, he just lent you out to him, to earn more money. Same goes with Cub, you are both still under the names of Matt. Therefore you both belong to him. Now Monotaro I will let that little outburst slide if you can recite all of the rules I just told you."
"A-al of t-hem?"
"First of all you can't read, are you deaf now too? Yes all of them!" he snapped. "Be quick about it too, I'm loosing losing my patience...And if you're not fast enough I will take each extra minute out on you, one minute for one blow...and as for Cub...double your hits."
Monotaro swallowed hard as he tried to remember all the rules quickly, not wanting Cub to be punished for his mistake.
"Rule n-n-number one..." he had a tear slip down his cheek. "D-d-do not communicate with other slaves. What about Cub, sir?"
"Only if we don't hear your mouth. What about rule number two?"
"I-I... I don't remember!" Monotaro said, frantically thinking. "Please tell it to me again! I forget!"
"Maybe I should give you some time to think by yourself, in private...follow me," Ben commanded as he walked out of the room.
""I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry sir!" Monotaro pleaded. "LET GO of my arm! OW! And Nick said he legally adopted me..."
"We've been over this," Ben told him as he flung him in the back of the closet. "Now you just sit tight and think about who your real owner is, and those other rules. I will be back shortly...if I remember you." Ben closed the door, concealing Monotaro in darkness, and locked the closet shut.
Nick, come find me... please. That was Monotaro's last thought before he passed out.
It was a full two to three days before Alex was allowed to see Monotaro again. To his surprise, Monotaro looked more pissed than anything else about being in the closet. Alex was relieved; he had been worried that Monotaro would withdraw back into himself just as he had before.
Right now, though, it was Alex who was in trouble.
"You mean Matt broke your leg?" Monotaro asked as he dropped onto his bed, exhausted. They had been kept in the closet for what felt like 24 hours, and had then been forced to work for 36 hours on the drug room - separately, of course.
"No, I fell down the stairs," Alex deadpanned. "Which obviously means I can't just walk out the door... or be dragged," he added as he saw Monotaro's brain working. "You have to find some way to get out of here, and find...Wolf I suppose."
"Right," Monotaro remarked, clearly unconvinced. He lowered his voice. "Alex, I can't do that! I've tried to run away eight times now and every time he's dragged me back! He already threatened to 'rape' me again - whatever that means - if I even thought about it!"
Alex sighed. "I really can't think of another way to contact Wolf...and I don't want to put your sanity on the line."
"Whatever that means... Right. I need to read more, I know," Monotaro said at Alex's weary look. "But how could I even get out of here?"
"I thought you would know...After all you've been here longer than I have so..." Alex let his voice trail off.
"I haven't been here though," Monotaro whispered. "I don't know where we are but he moved us. We are nowhere near where we used to be."
"Great," Alex told him. "When did you usually break out? Night, day...in public?"
"Public... I know that word," Monotaro whispered. He slumped up against the wall. "Where do I know that word?"
"You're joking, right?" Alex smiled.
"N-N-No - sorry-" Monotaro said as he winced and ducked, ready to avoid Alex's swing. He didn't have too though; Alex never raised his hand. "Is this a quiz?"
Alex looked at him, before sighing, knowing the confused look upon his face told that he had no clue. "No Monotaro, this isn't a quiz... just a conversation about an upcoming escape. Public... it means when you are surrounded by a lot of people, preferably in the day."
"Is that a good thing?" Monotaro asked. At Alex's wince, he elaborated. "I am sorry, Alex. I have only had up to a fifth-grade education. Then my mother pulled me out to run drugs and shortly after that Matt bought me. I don't know much, I'm stupid, I'm sorry."
"You're not stupid, Monotaro. You understand me? Matt's the one that's stupid... and I suppose your mother too. But you are far from stupid, you just need another chance at education. Which will happen as soon as we are free."
Monotaro glanced at Alex. "Matt always told me I was too stupid to return to school..." He let out a shaky breath. "He owns me, I can't escape, he says that's the new l-l-aw." Monotaro gave a faded piece of paper to Alex.
Alex looked at the piece of paper and bit his tongue to keep from yelling. The paper was a certificate, a legalized document stating that Monotaro did in fact belong to Matt. He wanted to punch him in the face. He set the paper down and struggled to get up. Monotaro helped him up.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going to strangle Matt, would you like to watch?"
"No, Alex! You can't! He'll beat you, especially with your leg. What's wrong? And besides Matt would say you could strangle me instead."
"I would never strangle you... order or not. And... that paper is legit. Signed by some idiot government official. Likely bribed into signing it, but it's there nonetheless... Matt owns you Monotaro... by law, and there is nothing Wolf, Eagle, or I can do about it. I'm sorry."
"No," Monotaro gasped, as if he had no hope. "But Eagle... Eagle said he adopted me! He said..." tears rolled down Monotaro's face. "I thought... Wolf said... slavery's not legal... I'm not property... I'm not property..."
Alex hugged him to the best of his ability and didn't fall over. "I know Monotaro. We all know that, that you're not a slave... or property. But Matt says so, and he has the papers to prove it. Just know that Eagle didn't lie to you. He probably did adopt you, in some loop hole, surpassed Matt's idiotic law. But since Matt got to you first, he technically owns you..."
"But... but... but... so if I try and run away... I can't..." Monotaro sniffled. "I can't... I can't... I can't!" He hugged his legs. "That means that he can t-touch me?" he asked, sniffling. "And w-wait, if Eagle ad-d-d-dopted me..." Tears ran own his face. "What do you mean tec-c-chnically?"
"You need to go to Eagle, anyway you can and show him this document. Since he 'adopted' you, he may have some say in what to do next. And possibly revoke it before Matt even notices that it went missing."
"But how do I-" Monotaro quickly shoved the paper in his pocket as Matt came in the room. He grinned, rubbing his hand through Cub's hair. "Got a present for you, Brat."
"I think I'll turn down that offer, it was sweet of you, but I didn't get you anything. Dang," Alex told Matt.
"Oh, that's all right, I'll just use you in the drug room some more. And you have to have the present, I insist. How's your leg?" Matt tossed the letter towards Cub and kicked him roughly in the leg - the same one he'd broken.
Alex grunted in pain and felt tears pricking out and slowly rolling down his cheek. "What could you possibly want to give me?" he said as he took a breath and grabbed the letter.
"Oh, lots of things. Read it out loud, Cub," Matt snapped as he kicked his leg again.
"Oh my!" Alex grasped his leg and shifted away from Matt as he opened the letter. He quickly scanned it over, and he scowled before scanning it again. "No. Fucking. Way!"
"Come on Alex dear, Monotaro and I both want to know the wording."
"There is no fucking way that Ben owns me now! I want to talk to him, now!"
"Actually, Ben does own you now. You were my gift to him when I inherited you from Jeff," Matt said. "Read the wording now before I break Monotaro's leg."
"Don't, don't do that...I'll read it. Just calm down for a second..." Alex breathed, before he started reading, "It would be my pleasure to inform one: Benjamin Tanner, that you now own, by the government law: Alex Rider."
"How do you like that present?" Matt said. "I own Monotaro; Ben owns you. Oh, and he says he isn't happy about your leg."
"You d-d-d-on't own me," Monotaro said as he stood up. "Nick owns me, he adopted me, so I'm sorry but you don't own me anymore, this is lies!" He took his paper and tore it in half before shoving it in Matt's face. "Fuck this shit!"
With that, he stomped out the door, slamming it shut.
"Get back here, Monotaro!" Matt warned. He drew his gun and pointed it at Cub. "You sit right there or I will break both of your legs, and Monotaro's too."
Alex glared at him, not wanting his mistake to be the cost on Monotaro. Matt pulled out handcuffs and cuffed one of Alex's hands to the bed frame. Matt then stalked after Monotaro and Alex heard yelling, and quite a few choice words in between. He tugged on the handcuff, but he couldn't get free... he only hoped that Monotaro could.
Monotaro slammed the front door and took off down the street. He had no choice now, he had to get away. The paper he had ripped up had only been a copy of the document; he carried the original with him too. Matt said it was "necessary" for when he went to run drugs.
He swallowed hard before swearing, "Dammit!"
It was only then that he remembered he had his cell phone with Eagle's number programmed in it. He frowned, not remembering having it before. What he didn't know was that Ben had slipped it in his pocket that day he'd let him out of the closet.
That being said, that didn't mean Monotaro could stop to use it. Right now he had to get a good distance between him and Ben-then he could call Nick.
Matt stormed back into the room, having been unsuccessful in his trip to catch Monotaro. "You made him escape!" he said to Alex. He unhandcuffed the boy quickly. "You're coming with me. We'll have to see where we can bury your damn body."
Alex shook his head as Ben came around the corner. "Go get Monotaro, I'll take care of Alex." He shot Alex a threatening look.
With that, Matt was out the door in the car. He scanned the nearby area and had driven for nearly thirty minutes before he finally found the son-of-a-bitch. He flung open the door of the car and grabbed Monotaro by his shirt. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, bitch? Don't you get that I fucking own you?"
"Get your hands off me you scumbag," Monotaro yelled.
Matt grabbed him and leaned next to his ear. "Either you come with me or I use Cub as a fuck toy right now. What will it be?"
"No, you can't!" Monotaro cried.
"I can and I will if you don't get your ass in the car, and even then I still might," Matt threatened. "Get in the car, now, dammit!"
"You-you promise you won't hurt Cub?" he asked as he got in the car.
Matt shrugged. "I'll hurt you instead," he offered as he locked the doors and ran his hand through Monotaro's hair. "You wanna take Cub's place as my toy?"
Monotaro flinched and thought about the outcome of this decision. He stayed silent until they arrived at a stop light. Matt was getting impatient.
"I shouldn't have sold you to Nick. He's way too light on the punishments. Trust me when I say I will fix that when I get home," Matt warned. "You got that?"
"Yes, sir," he added for good measure before he gasped and pointed off to his left, almost smacking Matt in the face. "What is that?"
"The sound of your ass against my whipping belt when we get home," Matt growled but looked anyway.
Monotaro quickly unlocked his door threw it open and sprinted down the street.
"Get the hell back here, boy!"
"You have to catch me first!" he responded as he rounded the corner.
Matt swore and quickly parked. "Get the fuck back here before I beat your ass!"
Monotaro swore and picked up his pace as Matt chased him. He really should have exercised more.
"Get back here dammit! I swear to god I'm gonna beat you when you get home!" With that, he grabbed Monotaro by the shoulder and slapped him in the face.
"Hey, get off of that kid," a police officer ordered, pointing his gun directly at the two. "Get off of him now."
Monotaro's breath hitched as Matt roughly grabbed the back of his neck.
"Let him go now. I know who you are, and you're under arrest. If you don't let go I'm going to shoot."
"I own Monotaro, I can do whatever the hell I please," Matt informed the police officer. "Isn't that right Monotaro? Tell the nice officer just how I own you." He grabbed Monotaro's arm and yanked it hard behind Monotaro's back, causing the teen to cry out.
"This fucking scumbag doesn't own shit. He's lying-"
"I own you Monotaro. Flesh and soul. Remember that," With that Matt shoved Monotaro to the ground and fired at Joe.
Joe opened fire back, hitting Matt squarely in the arm. "Female backup needed at stop 282 as well as male backup for a suspect." Matt was quickly cuffed and stored in the back of a squad car. "Are you okay, kid?" He knew who the kid and Matt were; he had been watching the tapes in Matt's house for a few weeks now.
"I-I'm fine... are you alright?"
"You're not fine, you're bleeding, don't worry about me." Joe moved towards the kid's arm. "Here, let me see that scrape," he said as the female backup arrived.
"Really, though, I'm fine. You even said it yourself, it's a scratch," Monotaro told him as he jerked his arm away.
"I said that I'm fine, I wasn't the one shot by a bullet, kid. I need to see it so I can treat it, I'm not going to hurt it."
"I wasn't shot, just...grazed."
Joe thought through the videos he had seen at Matt's house before realizing something. Monotaro was one of the kids that Matt had owned as a slave who Wolf had been talking too! Maybe Wolf would know something about the case. Joe quickly explained the situation to his backup, had the other officers take Matt away, and came back to where the kid was still sitting. "Do you know someone named Wolf?"
"Where is he?"
"We will have to get you fixed up first, then I will take you too him. Does that sound like a plan?" Joe asked, concerned as to what the answer would be.
"It sounds like blackmail," Monotaro grumbled but hesitantly got up. He reluctantly followed Joe into the police car. "How do you know him as Wolf?"
"I can assure you that no blackmail is involved. As to how I know Wolf...well, I'll let him tell you the details if he wants, but the basics are he was in some domestic violence case that I got assigned to."
"Domestic violence?" Monotaro questioned. "What's that? And why is Wolf involved in it? I thought... never mind, I'm not supposed to ask questions, Sir."
Joe sighed, Yeah, the kid was definitely linked to that domestic violence case... but how? "I'm not Sir, just Joe. And domestic violence is when someone is beaten within the confines of a relationship," Joe explained.
Monotaro didn't know what confines meant but nodded. "Right... Confines. Got it," he lied. "So how is Wolf being... is he being charged with domestic violence?"
"No, no, no.." Joe told him, this kid doesn't even have a clue... "Do you know what 'confines' means?"
"Yes... It means... It means... Being confined to a house. Wolf is being confined to a house. Right?"
"Hmm, Monotaro, right? You do realize that lying to a police officer is a federal offense. Now would you like to try that again?"
Monotaro closed his eyes and flashed back.
"Now remember Monotaro - you better keep your story damn straight - because if you don't... I'll kick your ass and have you arrested. Got it?" Matt growled. "Lying to a federal officer is an offense."
"It means... It means... I don't know!" Monotaro said. Fear swelled up in his chest. "I'm sorry for lying! I thought I knew!"
Ah, shit. Joe cursed, "Calm down kid, I knew you weren't lying. Just breathe and take a seat over here." Joe led him to the curb and seat him down, while he took a seat next to him. "I'm sorry for accusing you, I thought you knew what it meant. You're not in trouble or anything. But confines means violence within a relationship, and Wolf was on the blunt end of that treatment."
"Wolf was... hurt? Okay... who is he in a relationship with?" Monotaro had been separate from the pair for a few weeks and had no idea who Wolf had been supposedly dating.
"His name is Ben Daniels...you were really out of the loop, weren't you?" Joe asked, thinking Monotaro was just another clueless teen that didn't pay attention to his surroundings.
Monotaro winced. "Yes, Sir. I'm sorry, Sir." Sometimes that worked to pacify Matt. Other times it didn't, like Wolf for instance. "Wolf's name is Ben Daniels? I thought Wolf's name was James."
"Yes, Wolf's name is James, but his partner's name is Ben Daniels," Joe explained.
Monotaro nodded and a question came to mind. "Is Wolf still a slave? Sir?" He may as well make the most of being not beaten for asking questions.
"Nope, he's not a slave. Never was; just a bad case of abuse. He's the father of Alex," Joe said, not expecting to get a reaction out of the boy.
Monotaro breathed a sigh of relief. "So... Is Alex free now too then? What about me? Am I your slave now? Sir? Or can I go back to Nick?"
"Alex is... free, I guess. Yes, he is, but I'm in charge of you until you get your hand checked out... Who is Nick? If he's a relative, of guardian than you can go with him after you talk to Wolf, he really wants to see you."
"Yes, Sir." Monotaro's shoulders slumped. He guessed he would be Joe's slave now. At least Wolf and Alex were free. "Nick is my guardian, but if he says you're my owner then I have to listen to you." A tear ran down Monotaro's cheek, one that Joe didn't miss.
Joe smacked his forehead, "Kid... I meant that you're going to stick with me until we get to Wolf. And you are not going to be permitted to see Nick. I don't care what you say, or he says. You are to stay with Wolf, understand?"
Monotaro's shoulders slumped even further. He nodded. "Yes, Sir. Whatever you think is best, Sir."
Joe nodded, not seeing anything wrong, "That's good. Now let's get your hand bandaged, then we can go see Wolf."
Sniffling, Monotaro nodded as he strapped the seat belt in. Joe had taken care of his hand and they were now good to go. Monotaro couldn't help but think of Nick, who had taken care of him more than any other parent had. "Sir... why can't I go with Nick?" he asked, allowing a tear to run down his cheek.
Joe sighed as he drove. "I don't want to explain it all, but the short version is that you're not safe with Nick. No doubt what Matt did to you, he will finish off."
Monotaro froze. No, no, no, no, no, no, no no. "I need... I need my inhaler," he said, grabbing his backpack frantically as he searched through it. He moved towards the bottom of the bag and took a puff. He would have to talk to Wolf when they got there. "So... did Nick sell me to you?" he asked. "Nick said he legally adopted me and was going to keep me forever and that he wasn't going to make me go back to Matt! Matt kidnapped me! Wait, are you working with Matt?"
"No, I'm not working for Matt. And I can't say for sure that Nick would keep you, or if he even adopted you. But he didn't sell you to me."
Monotaro nodded. A tear rolled down his cheek again. And then another one, and soon a whole torrent of tears went down his face. "No!" he cried. He grabbed his bag, unbuckled his seatbelt and bolted from the door.
"Dammit!" Joe slammed on the breaks, threw the car in park, and ran after Monotaro.
"Let me GO!" Alex pulled against Ben's shoulder as Ben attempted to drag him out the door. "I'm NOT going ANYWHERE with you! You don't fucking own me!"
"I have the paperwork, so I do in fact own you. Quit your whining and shut up."
"Whining? Whining? Matt broke my damn leg!" Alex snapped, gesturing at the leg. "OW! That hurts me. HELP!" he screamed as soon as Ben got him outside. "LET ME GO! Let me go!"
Ben slapped a hand over Alex's mouth, silencing his outbursts, "I swear, Cub, if you don't shut the hell up, then you will be punished. And as soon as Matt comes back, I will punish Monotaro myself. Now, are you going to behave?"
"You can't do that," Alex said, whispering. Ben was still a good guy, right? "What about-"
Ben roughly slapped him, and Alex stumbled back. He tripped and fell into the arms of someone.
"Let me go!" Alex said, attempting to pull away from the man who had suddenly appeared. "Wolf is my Dad, not you, you sick son of a bi-"
"Stop yelling! Now what's going on here?" a police officer asked as he held onto Alex's arm.
Alex opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by the officer, who glared at him. "Not you, I was asking him."
Ben also glared at Alex before clearing his throat and answering the question. "Well, you see here officer, my slave was trying to get away. And with all of his yelling, it was really a chance that you showed up and stopped this little tantrum."
"I'm not your slave!" Alex retorted, stepping on Ben's foot in an attempt to get free. Somehow he had been shoved back by Ben, who had latched onto his arm firmly. "Slavery is against the law-"
"Actually if he has the papers, it is completely legal," the officer told him, then looked at Ben. "Is this whore new? He has quite the mouth on him, don't he?"
"Unfortunately, not new enough to display this behavior... He should know better, right Cub?" Ben asked as he tightened his grip.
"You're NOT my father!" Alex screamed, seeing someone walk by. "James is my father. Let me go!"
The other person saw the police officer, shrugged, and slammed the door to their house.
"Would you like to take this somewhere private?"
"YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO ME!" Alex screamed again, seeing yet another person giving him a leery look. "JAMES IS MY FATHER! NOT THIS.. this... JERK!"
"This is all under control, no need to worry," the officer told the people walking by. "He's bipolar and in the manic stage, so I would step back if I were you."
"You should step back from the officer," Alex growled as he resisted Ben's grip. The other two - the last two getting off the bus - walked away. "You're fucking insane if you think I'm getting in that car with you, you sorry son..."
"If you finish that sentence, I will kill you," Ben deadpanned as he started to drag Alex, following the officer to his police car.
Alex hung his head and allowed himself to be handcuffed. "Where are we going? OW! My leg hurts! Don't kick it!"
The officer grunted in reply and took Alex's head and rammed it into the top of the car, before throwing him in. "Now your head hurts too," he said as he slammed the door shut and looked at Ben. "Hope you don't mind, I have a slave of my own, and he is exactly like that."
Ben shook his head, "Not at all, he needed it. Shall we get going then?"
"Hop in." The officer started the engine, and pulled out. It wasn't long before Alex started cursing at the both of them, so he turned on the siren to drown out the noise.
Finally, Alex slumped against the back of the seat, exhausted. Clearly this officer had no heart. "Where the fuck are we going?" he demanded.
"Where else would I take someone who threatened an officer, and hit his father?"
"He's NOT my father!" Alex said angrily as they pulled into the parking lot. He remained quiet until the door opened, where he began to resist against the officer. "LET ME GO! JAMES IS MY FATHER, NOT BEN! HELP! HELP!"
Ben groaned as he helped the officer drag Alex in the police station. Ignoring odd glances, the officer just explained that this kid was under arrest for assaulting him, and his father. They finally got to a room, where they threw Alex in to let him cool off.
Challenges:
Will Joe let Niles go back to Eagle?
What will happen to Alex? Where are Wolf and Eagle? Wolf is sure staying hidden, isn't he?
Do you still think Joe is good? What about Ben?
Do you think Matt really is able to "surpass the law" and take people slaves?
*Disclaimer: Slavery is not legal in any part of the US or the UK. At least not legally. So don't get any ideas... K?
(Seventeen reviews gets an early update! Since 36 people have this on favorites, that shouldn't be too hard... Right? Even a "good job" counts!)