Rewind: The Sheep in Wolves Clothing
Fred's skin felt like it was on fire as Devon dragged him along the ground, his partially exposed torso scraped painfully along the concrete, resulting in several cuts and his now broken cheekbone burned from the pain of being smashed so heavily onto the ground and he struggled to remain lucid. He was dragged roughly back inside the factory and here, the second werewolf - the one Ethan had previously knocked out – was waiting, he slipped handcuffs on Fred's wrists before handing Devon a long chain. Devon attached one end around Fred's ankle and the other around a concrete pillar before turning all his attention back to his lackey.
Fred watched as Devon handed him a gun and heard the chilling instruction he gave, 'Kill him'.
The man left abruptly, and Fred held his breath a little as Devon turned his gaze back on him and strolled over to him, he stood over him imposingly.
"My my Fred I knew you had it in you! I recognise the anger in you, the pain, it takes a REAL man to kill another," Devon taunted him. He sounded almost proud about the discovery that Fred had pushed his henchman to his death, Fred was anything but.
"It was an accident," he muttered, eyes downcast, refusing to take any pleasure in it. "I didn't mean to kill him."
"No, of course you didn't, you would have used this wouldn't you?" Devon reached forward and plucked the now protruding gun from Fred's waistband. Fred genuinely had forgotten all about the gun in that moment, would he actually have shot the man? He had felt such fury when Ethan was being choked, that he considered he probably would.
"Maybe," he acknowledged.
"It does leave me with a little problem though," Devon pondered aloud, yawning. "Rick was pretty hopeless at most things but he did have his uses, not least terrorising half of Coolsville as the 'Wolf-Man!" he laughed heartily. "Stupid, stupid people, if I'd known a Halloween costume was all it took to frighten everyone, including the cops I might add, I'd have done this years ago! It does leave me with quite the dilemma indeed, I have big plans tomorrow and I'm now a werewolf down, just where does one have to go, to get a decent henchman these days?"
It was obvious Devon cared very little about the man Fred had inadvertently killed, only about the the inconvenience, that losing his slice of muscle, had now presented him with.
His cell phone rang just then, leaving his question hanging in the air, seeing who was calling, Devon smiled and maliciously placed the call on speaker, he wanted young Fred to hear this, this was undoubtedly the moment his hostage would break.
"Is it done?" he asked.
Cain, his remaining henchman spoke quickly over the sound of driving rain outside. "It's done. The kid is dead," he confirmed.
Devon immediately looked gleefully over to Fred to watch his reaction on hearing those words. It was even more profound than he could imagine, Fred reached over and retched and then cried.
"Thank you," he replied, before adding, " you must take care of the body though."
Cain promised him he would take care of it right away and returned a few minutes later to collect a car, the shutters slammed closed after him. Devon decided to twist the knife in on poor Fred.
"Oh dear Freddy," Devon mocked in a baby voice, "you failed! You killed a man today and for what? You're still stuck here and the man you oh so heroically tried to save ahead of yourself, is dead!"
"You really are an absolute monster you know?" Fred retorted tearfully, "Ethan was your nephew, does family mean nothing to you?"
Fred was devastated, ever since the moment he woke up in this hell and had discovered him, saving Ethan had been his sole purpose, a chance to finally do something good. When he forced Ethan out ahead of him, he desperately hoped he would have been able to escape somehow but to hear that Cain had killed him! It was the most devastating blow he could take, more gut-wrenching than any pain his own body had been put through in captivity.
"It's funny you should mention that word actually Fred," Devon replied, squatting close to the boy. "because family, or rather, the fucking awful people that I had call family, is why I am what I am today and not enjoying the white picket fence life that was all I ever wanted!" he said resentfully.
" I can't ever see you being the type that would settle for white picket fences Devon," Fred commented, surprised.
"No? You'll be surprised what I have to tell you actually, you might even find it in your heart to have sympathy for me."
Fred snorted, "Sympathy? What sympathy could I possibly have for the man who has just executed his own nephew and is trying to do the same to his daughter..."
"Well that's the thing you see Freddy, she's not actually mine," he confessed with a cheeky wink.
Fred didn't think there was anything that Devon could say, that would have any impact on him whatsoever, even if he had been a heavily abused foster kid for example, nothing could excuse his evil since, but this confession floored him.
"What?" he exclaimed, his mouth was open wide with shock. "If you're not even her father, then what the hell is all this about?! Why are you trying to kill her!"
Devon gave him a condensed version of the speech that he would later give Daphne; how his eventual wife was originally with his brother Matt in high school but it was Devon she fell in love with and married. He told Fred about how their romance was secretly rekindled not long after Matt was left by his then love, leaving him to raise his little boy alone, and unbeknown to Devon, later fathering a daughter with Eve, Daphne's mother. It was the ultimate betrayal and was only discovered years later by a heartbroken Devon. The betrayal triggered something dark within him Devon admitted, it was the catalyst for turning onto the eventual path he was on now.
"So you see," Devon finished in front of an astounded Fred, "this is all because of a boy, a boy who should have known better than to take what wasn't his, a boy who ruined EVERYTHING. Everything I had built with Eve, was destroyed in that one simple confession, and I still tried to care for those kids, both of them but guess who inherited her mother's nosy bitch nature! She can bring everything that I've worked so hard for, crashing down and I CANNOT have that!" Devon's face had gone almost purple as he recalled Matt's infidelity, his cool demeanour had vanished and he punched the wall.
"She'll be so relieved," Fred smirked when he had recovered from the revelation, "relieved that she doesn't have the embarrassment of calling you her father after all!"
Fred earned himself a punch to the mouth for his comment before Devon visibly brightened, the rage that had temporarily descended over him as he discussed Daphne's true parentage, soon dissipated.
"I just got an absolutely swell idea where to find a new wolf-man at short notice!" he declared, eyes shining as he grinned again at Fred, much to Fred's disgust.
Fred found he had lost the energy to fight them after the news of Ethan's death, not that Devon had made his 'new job opportunity' anything but mandatory anyway and so that's why later the next day, he found himself back inside that van, being forced to put on a costume.
Cain, still furious with Fred for killing his partner, was more than a little dubious about the wisdom of Devon's new plan but Devon had wasted no time extolling the virtues of it to him. They would keep a close eye on him at all times, any sign of him trying to escape, Cain had permission to take him down. Fred was strong, they needed someone with muscle to unload the pallets, for Devon it made perfect sense, knowing Fred would hate every last second of forcing him to do this made it even more appealing to him. He knew that even taking a man as intelligent and sharp as Fred back out into Coolsville was undoubtedly still a risk and though his spirit had been severely crushed by the news of Ethan dying, Devon knew Fred would use any opportunity presented to him. This was why he had taken care with other precautions.
Since Cain had killed Ethan, they had left Fred handcuffed and tethered by his ankle in the parking garage and it didn't seem like he had even tried to escape again. After taking him to the bathroom, Devon re-cuffed him then blindfolded him, before Cain marched him out of the factory and into the daylight. Cain took great pleasure in shepherding him along, striking him if he didn't move quite quickly enough. Cain also had a taser that Devon had insisted was an absolute last resort in the event of an attempted escape but Cain already knew a situation would present itself where it would be necessary to use it, this kid was not going to get the drop on him again.
Inside the van, Fred felt pathetic and humiliated as he was forced to submissively put on the werewolf suit, he reasoned however this could be his best chance to escape or just to stop Devon, any form of sabotage that presented itself he was going to take.
Devon grinned at him as he zipped up the furry suit, it was more than a little too big for him. He turned Fred around to re-do his handcuffs and then sat him down on the floor whilst he adjusted his own mask. "Now you really do look the part Fred, there's just one more little adjustment we need to make, just in case you are stupid enough to try anything."
He produced a roll of black duct tape from nowhere and before Fred even had chance to voice his protest,he pressed a strip firmly over Fred's mouth and then around and around his head securely.
He tapped Fred on the cheek who glowered angrily at him before Devon pulled the werewolf mask tightly over his face and attached it to his bodysuit with a further few strips of tape and covered all that with a collar.
"Oh Fred, you look so fearsome," Devon laughed, "anything to say?"
Fred immediately delivered a string of expletives that were obviously silenced by the gag and the mask, and came out as little more than muffled curses.
"Sorry, can't hear you," Devon mocked, he shouted to Cain in the driver's seat, "Let's get going!"
They arrived at the docks a short time later with Fred wedged so firmly to Devon's side, it caused the man they were meeting who was to let them in, to regard the werewolf doubtfully.
"New guy," Devon confirmed quickly with a nod.
He shoved Fred forward with a little warning, who then began walking unsupported, Cain also took every opportunity to accidentally bump the other 'werewolf' as they approached the shipment containers. Their man on the inside, Steve, consulted his phone with the digital shipment information on and ascertained that container 18 was the one they wanted. Steve guided the comical looking trio across the dockyard, with other workers hastily looking the other way, the arrangement had been going on for a while and nobody dared speak out after the first would-be whistle blower had landed in the hospital after tangling with the wolf-man. Standing before container 19, Devon, Cain and Fred looked on while Steve opened the container to reveal several large boxes.
"You've got about fifteen minutes," Steve warned, before walking away.
"You're up boys," Devon turned to his dastardly helpers and gestured to the first box. Cain went to lift it and Fred hesitated for just a fraction too long before Devon clapped him on the back, pushing him forward. Fred reluctantly went to the opposite side to Cain to lift it. The box was heavy and Fred struggled with the weight, apparently this was only the first one and they had to make several more trips across the dockyard to the van yet - no wonder Devon had rued losing the brute strength of Rick! It killed Fred that he was helping Devon transport his dodgy cargo but he had to hope an opportunity would present itself by playing along.
As he and Cain carried the second shipment to the van, Cain deliberately bumped into the vehicle instead, meaning he dropped the corner of the box and it slipped onto Fred's foot.
"Oh! I'm SORRY!" Cain smirked delightedly, anything but sorry, knowing fine well Fred was unable to make any sound behind the gag.
Fred screamed helplessly into the gag from the sudden, sharp pain, it was becoming more difficult to breathe behind the furry mask with his mouth restricted too and he prayed this would be over with soon.
As he limped back to collect the next pallet, Devon noticed the slight gait to Fred's walk, and he raised his eyebrows at Cain.
"Accident," he shrugged back. Devon wasn't surprised that Cain had taken out a little retribution on Fred but knew he would have to keep a close eye on him, he needed Fred far more than he needed the oafish Cain. He was about to make this perfectly clear to Cain when he was alerted by a shout. Steve was running over ashen-faced.
"I'm so sorry Mr Blake, I don't know how this happened!"
Devon was immediately irritated, what could this buffoon possibly have got wrong? All he had to do was check the shipment rota, find out where and when the drugs were being delivered and contact Devon and Devon would do the rest, they had done it a few times already. Something, somewhere had obviously gone terribly wrong tonight though because Steve was actually shaking. This could not be good.
"I don't know what happened Mr Blake, the computer said the Rylance , Peru, dock 2, 18, it's never been wrong! Never!" Steve stammered.
Devon felt his anger rising, Steve wasn't even making any sense. He pushed him against the container. "What is the problem?" he asked as evenly as he could manage.
Steve visibly swallowed before answering, "the shipment sir, I believe this is the wrong one."
Devon could hardly believe what he was hearing, just what kind of idiots did he have working for him?
"What do you mean you believe it's the wrong shipment? How can it possibly be the wrong shipment?"
"The computer sir, it said container 18 was from Peru, old furniture..."
"Yes, yes that's what they were supposed to be hidden in this time, hence the heaviness," Devon cut in impatiently, "what's the problem?"
" We just got word of intruders in yard 1. A piece of antique furniture was found outside a recently delivered container. It's possible that there might have been a second container but I have a horrible feeling..." Steve winced.
Devon too started to feel very alarmed, "Open it!" he indicated the crate that Cain had earlier dropped on Fred's foot, he handed Cain a crowbar.
Cain hurriedly prised the lid free and they all looked on in disbelief at what was inside. Fred found himself chuckling inside the mask.
Devon rounded on Steve quickly in absolute fury. "You IDIOT!" he seethed, kicking the useless fruit in anger, "how could you be so stupid!?"
Steve quivered in fear, not wanting to face the wrath of Devon.
"The computer," he babbled, "I intercepted the ship's log like you asked, like I've done for you before! This is the information it gave me. Blame the computer!"
Devon was about ready to drop-kick the useless Steve into the water, "Blame the computer!?" he raged, "How about I blame the stupid fucker who brought us to the WRONG container, the computer does not just send the wrong information...unless..."
The penny dropped for Devon about the same time as Fred understood what had happened, he resisted the urge to punch the air in salute to the only woman he knew capable of hacking a shipping order and sending Devon on a wild goose chase, but settled for a smirk, he was only sorry Devon would not get to see it.
"Unless someone deliberately gave you the wrong information," Devon had put the pieces together like Fred, and was in no doubt who the puppet master was here. "That little bitch!" he seethed. If Velma Dinkley had lead them to container 18 on Dock 2 while his real shipment was really on Dock 1 in a different container, then that meant they had very little time left before his 'daughter' and the other intruders pulled off an unexpected coup. He realised he had severely underestimated her and those she had surrounded herself with, he just had to hope it wasn't too late.
"Get back in the van now!" he growled angrily at Steve and Cain, bundling Fred back into the van. He couldn't see his face but had no doubt a smug look was painted on it behind the mask right now. Dock 2 was just around the corner but it was still far enough away that it meant they had to drive around a different way to get to it, Steve directed them to the container, the 'fruit' had supposedly been unloaded at and sure enough the door was swinging wide open, containing broken furniture. Devon frantically pulled at the furniture, throwing his hands up in exasperation. There were no packets of drugs. She had them.
Cain, who had been looking around outside the container, returned with one small holdall which he dropped at Devon's feet.
"This is all I could find boss."
Devon snatched up the holdall, not quite believing that this was happening, all of the successful extractions so far with barely a hiccup and they had now been foiled by a bunch of teenagers?!
"Go and find them!" he instructed urgently of Cain and Steve, Velma's little stunt had undoubtedly bought them some time but they surely hadn't left already, the intruder alert alarms were still going off. He watched Cain and Steve split off in opposite directions and then considered what to do with Fred, he knew there was no way he was going to willingly search for his friends. He thought about locking him inside the van but in the end, settled for dragging him alongside him. Pulling out the walkie-talkie Steve had handed him, he asked if they had found any sign at all of them. The answer was not positive at all. They were just kids for heaven's sake how could they have pulled this off?!
"They have to be here somewhere!" he said exasperated, "keep looking!"
He marched around the containers himself, finding nothing and became acutely aware that Fred was deliberately slowing him down, grinding his heels into the floor.
"Oh nice try Freddy," he commented as he spotted a tall post and chain. "Your loyalty to your friends is something to be admired for sure." He pulled him over to the post, grabbing the end of a long sturdy chain, and attached it to the collar on his costume, like a dog.
" Good boy, I'll be back for you," he promised, leaving Fred tethered helplessly in the dark shadows.
A few minutes of furtively tugging at the chain after Devon left him, Fred spotted Shaggy approaching, being doggedly pursued by Cain. he watched Shaggy sprint past in terror and knew he had to try do something to help save his best friend. He had been unable to break it but he eyed the length of the chain attached to his collar and made a quick decision. As Cain approached,hot on Shaggy's heels, he stood up quickly and shot across the yard on all fours; the chain, as he had hoped, pulled nice and taut. In the darkness, Cain didn't stand a chance of seeing the sudden movement or the chain and he was sent sprawling by the trip, which allowed Shaggy those precious few seconds he needed to get away. Fred heard what sounded like Velma saying 'Shaggy come on!' followed by a peel of screeching tyres and he knew then that they had been successful. He hardly had any time to relish their victory before Cain was on him in a fury.
"You little shit! Why Devon kept you around after what you did to Rick is beyond me! This ends now!"
Still chained to the post by the collar, Fred was virtually defenceless as Cain rained kicks and punches down on his body, the stupid suit only offering the smallest bit of protection.
Devon re-appeared then, looking visibly dejected, he had heard the sound of the van driving off and had resigned himself to the fact that Daphne and the others were gone. This unexpected turn of events coupled with the fact his original hostage was dead, meant that Fred was vital to Devon now and he returned to reclaim his prize just as Cain was really beginning to go to town on him and he couldn't have that.
"Stop that!" he commanded wearily.
But Cain it seemed, couldn't or wouldn't hear him, and continued to whale on the defenceless boy. He was going to kill him Devon quickly realised, he absolutely could not have that so without any hesitation, he tasered the angry wolf-man. He walked over and yanked Cain off the stricken Fred, leaving his henchman in an ungainly heap. He reached out a hand to pull Fred to his feet.
Fred blinked in surprise, as Devon helped him stand, had Devon just saved him?
"Oh don't look too grateful Freddy," Devon told him with his trademark smirk as he severed the chain and helped him hobble back to the van, "This is just a simple equation of balancing what I need most right now, I don't need Cain but you? You've just become the most important weapon in my arsenal about now and the most beautiful thing is your friends have no idea about it."
Devon hauled Fred back into the van, he re-tied his wrists tightly, and then looped the rope through a hook on the roof so that Fred could barely move. He then used a penknife to hack at the tape holding Fred's mask in place, not caring when he nicked the skin. He pulled the fur off his face, noticing the mottled bruises beginning to form on his skin from where Cain had kicked him hard and he reached out to touch a particularly nasty one on his chin. Fred's eyes followed what he was doing cautiously, he was breathing steadily and noisily through his nose now and Devon realised how difficult it must have been to breathe inside the mask. Satisfied that Fred was OK and secured, he jumped back down from the van and hefted the now comatose Cain in, laying him at Fred's feet.
He climbed into the front and put the van into gear, musing over what had just happened. She had got bolder than he ever imagined and even though it severely inconvenienced him, he felt a tiny twinge of pride at the way she had bravely took charge. Even so, it took him by surprise when he saw that she was calling him. He pulled over, barely able to hide his amusement. Fred glared at him curiously, and then sat up a little straighter when he heard Devon clearly address Daphne. The intentions soon became clear, Daphne was offering a trade, believing Devon still had Ethan. She was going to walk straight into a trap! Desperately, Fred tried to shout a warning but the duct tape muffled his attempt completely. Devon had that malicious grin again as he lied to Daphne that he was going to trade Ethan, only Fred soon realised, he hadn't lied to Daphne, he was deliberately vague as he told her he would agree to her trade for the boy. It cut straight through to Fred as he realised exactly who the boy was. It was him, just in case Fred hadn't worked this out, Devon turned his gaze on him, smiling at Fred as he told Daphne she had his word he was alive, and that his life depended on it. Fred struggled helplessly, angrily, he hated being the pawn in Devon's sick game!
Devon drove him back to the factory, and pulled him out the van. He tied a blindfold over his eyes as he guided him back inside. Devon took no care at all as he ripped the tape off Fred's mouth, causing Fred to cry out.
"You know Fred, this isn't personal," Devon remarked as he led Fred into the grain trap. "I really do commend you in a way, you're a very impressive young man."
"Oh well, coming from you that means a lot Devon," Fred hit back sarcastically.
"Had circumstances being different, I would have took you with me, I really do think we would have made a great team."
"You're joking right?" Fred replied, as Devon brought him to a post and forced him to the ground, he could feel Devon reaching behind him to tie him it to it.
"No, I'm not actually," Devon said thoughtfully. "I'll let you go right now if you agree to join me. You'll have more money than you've ever had in your life. A lifestyle that you could only dream of..."
"You're actually serious?" Fred laughed, "you're proposing a team up? You think after everything you've done to me, to Daphne, to Ethan that I would want to join you?"
"The potential I see in you Fred Jones is immense! You could become one of the greatest criminals America has ever seen. Join me. We'll take care of the loose ends when she arrives and then set up somewhere a bit more glamorous than Coolsville..."
"No."
"I'm pretty much offering you the world on a plate here, did you seriously say..."
"No," Fred repeated coldly, "no I won't do it."
Devon tied his hands with rope, tighter than he had done before, causing Fred to wince as he tightened the ropes around his wrists. "Oh you do disappoint Fred, I'm not surprised but regardless it is disappointing. I mean I get that she's pretty but is she really worth all this..." he tightened rope around his ankles, "pain?"
"She is everything," he answered sincerely, "she is my second chance and she is everything you are not."
"You stupid child!" Devon lashed out angrily now. "You still have so much to learn! You think she loves you? She'll break your heart you know, they all do eventually, no matter what fucking promises they might make! You say she's your second chance? She is your doom! She might have stolen your heart but look what it then led to! She is toxic just like her mother."
"She is beautiful and brave like her mother but most importantly at least she's not an insecure basket case like her uncle." Devon's fist connected solidly with his jaw. "You claimed Matt was the jealous one? Sounds like it was you. No wonder Eve chose him. It couldn't have been a hard choice."
"Shut up," Devon hit him again.
"She rejected you,"
"SHUT UP!", Devon hit him harder and harder.
Blood was pouring into Fred's mouth now but he wasn't phased, "You torture and hurt and use fear as a weapon but you're a coward Devon. You get others to do the real dirty work. You're a lonely, weak, pathetic coward!" He knew this might be his last chance and was determined to tell Devon some home truths.
Devon drove one final punch into his face before storming away furiously, Fred Jones had chipped away at him and it had worked. He had to stop himself from killing the boy, he had got firmly under his skin and so he walked off to prepare for Daphne's arrival. Before he left the silo, he stopped at the door to look back at the blond one final time.
"Would you die for her?" he asked candidly.
Fred didn't even take a second to answer, "Absolutely," he declared.
Devon laughed coldly, "Well, good because that's the only way this is going to end for you now," he got ready to close the door, "goodbye Fred!" he shouted as the door slammed shut.
Bleeding in the darkness, Fred knew he was properly trapped now, but he was content, he meant every last word of what he had said to Devon. She did mean everything to him, I would die for you in a heartbeat Daphne Blake. He just prayed that somehow, he wouldn't get to test the strength of that resolve.
A:N - Okay! That brings us bang up to date. Next we will return to exactly the place we left it before we did the rewind: Daphne, in the hands of her uncle, staring down at Fred in a gruesome trap. What will happen next? We also see how Shaggy and Velma react to the shocking turn of events. Shaggy has lost a lot in his young life so far, it's safe to say he will do anything to save his best friend...