CHAPTER 21:

"I'm almost done, Jesus fuck Charles," Alex ground out as he rinsed himself off in his shower. "Will you get the fuck outta here? I have my next client in 15 minutes!"

"You said you were gunna help me with my stream tonight," Charles shot back, disregarding his words. "It's really fucked up that you're making me wait on you."

"What I said was that I wasn't putting you in before my clients and that I'd only stick around to suck you off, you fucking pervert. And you should know how to do a solo act in case shit like this happens again, you know, like it will next week."

"Oh fuck you, you're not better at this then me you prissy bitch!"

"Considering I can keep one-on-one clients happy with just myself, let alone I'm pulling in more revenue then you, I fucking beg to differ." Alex turned off his shower and stepped out, grabbing a towel and patting himself down. He stumbled as Charles pushed into him, pinning him up against a wall and pressing his knee between Alex's legs. "Excuse you!"

"Why don't we give your client a little two for one special, hmm?"

"Fuck off, Charles," Alex said, shoving his way to freedom and exiting the bathroom. "That's not what my client paid for, and you're NOT weaseling money off me by pushing your way into my private sessions. Besides," he added, checking over his computer screen to make sure everything was set to go and read the requests of the client. Oh thank god it was A. Ramos, just as Alex thought it would be. Last slot on a Saturday night, of course it was. "I'm working with someone who likely hates your stupid face anyways."

"Who the fuck is that?" Charles asked, leaning over Alex to read his screen. "Wait, no, I remember him. He's the sick little fuck who wanted me to stick a dick up my ass."

"They made a perfectly reasonable request, Charles. Maybe if you had been more accommodating you could have had a nice set up with them."

"I'm a top baby, I don't take it in the ass like a bitch."

Alex sighed and shrugged Charles away from his computer, walking over to his door and opening it. "Look, I'd love to stay and chat, but you gotta go. Go set up for your stream. I'll be there as soon as I'm done."

"How long will that take?"

"Well, it's a 30 minute session but I'll fuck myself for this client all goddamn night if you try to rush me, Charles. Get out!"

Sullenly, his co-worker ushered himself to the door and finally left, allowing Alex to shut the door behind him. There was no locking mechanism on the door, company policy stating that all rooms needed to be accessible at all times in case of an emergency, but Alex seriously debated breaking that rule with the little door lock he carried in his backpack just this once. No, his luck would have it that Charles would try to barge in mid session, then run and tattle to Aaron that Alex had locked his door somehow, meaning Alex would be the one in trouble. Best he could hope for was that happening anyway, and then Alex could be the one to tattle to Aaron about Charles. Childish, but what the fuck ever, it's how they'd always been.

He rubbed at his face and tried to clear his head. Now was not the time to be focusing on his beef with the asshole down the hall, he needed to be whatever this client wanted. He went back to his computer, minding the five minutes to go time that he still had, and checked that the room wasn't too messy from his previous sessions. Well, he wouldn't have the time to change everything out now, but it wasn't that bad. He'd just apologize profusely and give this A. Ramos extra time if they wanted it to compensate. Alex read over the request section again, his brow furrowing as he tried to make sense of it. There were several toys selected this time, all of them Alex had used in the past with this client, but they were never so...greedy? No, maybe it was indecision, tho they'd never been so before. No mention to keep quiet either, which struck Alex as odd as this client was always adamant about that. The instructions felt odd, fuller sentences, very descriptive, very crude...

Two minutes to go.

Alex read over the near full paragraph and bit down on the back of his thumb, mulling it over. They'd given no instructions on what to wear, yet asked for a stripe tease, which was new. And Alex knew this client well, they never wasted time with making Alex strip for them. Something was wrong. He could feel it. Something was...so wrong...

The countdown began and Alex decided he'd disregard the strip tease bit, touch base to see if everything was okay, and go from there. It was a gamble, but this was a good and regular client. Alex would make amends if he was wrong, but he'd rather be safe then sorry. The feed went live and he leaned back on the edge of his bed, smiling in the coy seductive way Lin did to charm all his clients. The black void came up, the message box pinged, and Alex clicked to switch so the chat was prominent on his screen. "Welcome bac—"

His heart skipped a beat and started running a marathon in his chest, his breath caught in his throat and his eyes locked on the first word in the chat box, a word that shouldn't be there, a word that couldn't be there!

Alex, I don't have much time, just shut up and listen.

He had to force himself to read the rest of the sentence. He had to force himself to understand the words. They made no sense. He knew what they meant, but they made no fucking sense.

I'm going to disappear, you don't have to worry about me being in your life. But before that happens, I just needed to tell you thank you, for everything you've ever done for me. You'll never know what it meant.

"Who—" he started to say, but the words died in his throat.

I'm not a stalker. I just accidentally found out who you are, I'm so sorry. It's no one's fault. And I know if you knew who I was you'd be scared. So I'm just going to disappear. Forever. I don't know if they'll find my body, I hope they don't. Please God, I don't want anyone to know about this.

"What are you talking about?" Alex whispered. "What's going on?"

I think I'm ending my own life here. Or something like it.

Alex, I met you, I got to know you, and I see what you're really like. You're a good person.

But you're surrounded by people who are

Bad

God, I want to help you so much.

Please don't listen to them Alex. Get out from this, get away.

It's too late for me, but you can probably make it if you go now.

Thank you for everything you've done. I think a part of me loved you for it, but maybe even that was wishful thinking.

Goodbye.

"Wait," Alex said, but it was too late. The session ended. The client had disconnected. "Wait," Alex repeated, reaching for the computer, clicking everything he could to try to reconnect. There was no reconnect tho, the session was over. The client had disconnected.

He sat back on the bed, his mind a swarming whirlwind of thoughts. Who was he talking too? Who knew who he was? HOW Had They Found Out Who He Was?! What What Going On?!

I think I'm ending my own life here.

You're surrounded by people who are bad.

God, I want to help you so much.

What did that mean? What Did That Mean?! Was someone dead? Suicide? Murder?! Because of him, because of Alex? He shot up, from the bed, stumbling toward the door of his studio, stopping only when he realized he was still naked and running back to throw on the pants he'd come to work in. His phone was in his hoodie pocket and he pulled it out, fumbling with buttons as he tried to hold onto enough sanity to think about what he was doing. The call went through to a busy signal, and he hung up, trying again, getting the same result. The third time he got an answer.

"Hello?"

"AARON!" Alex screamed louder then he'd meant too. "I was—I had—session—and they—stopped—know me—how did they—called my name—who—are they—are they—dead?"

"I'll take care of it," came the too calm voice. "Stay put." And then the call ended.

Alex listed to the dial tone and felt no comfort. He grabbed his hoodie and his bag and his shoes, running from the room and booking it down the hall past the lobby and through the door. He stopped only in the stairway to pull his shoes and sweater on, then flew down several flights of stairs and past the guard and out the door he always came through to get to work. Filled with the energy of anxiety he ran down the street, the beat of his backpack thumping against his back nowhere near as frantic as his racing heart that kept him moving, moving, moving, moving. Even in the dark he knew the turns to take, the streets to travel, the destination in mind, the only other safe haven he had ever known. He ran until he reached the gate, fumbling with fingers awkward with the run of adrenaline pumping in his veins, until he got it open and then he ran all the rest of the walk way up to the door. He knew he had a key, but he pounded on the heavy wood and leaned on the doorbell instead of digging it out. So lost in his fearful thoughts, he'd forgotten the forecast called for a storm that night.

A crack of lightening caused him to drop to his knees with a scream, cowering at the foot of the door with his head covered and a million panicked thoughts running through his mind; of death and the dead bodies, the destruction of houses and ruins of buildings, the loss of safety and a man lurking in the shadows waiting to drag him away to a hell worse then his life on earth, of blood dripping down a wall and the remains of brain matter falling from the skull it came from...

The door gave way behind him, and he tumbled over the threshold of the house, falling at someone's feet. "Alex?" a gentle voice called him to attention, and he looked up, knowing he looked a mess, and knowing the new wave of tears that broke over his face in relief must have made him look worse.

"Ben..." he whined, reaching for the man who offered his hands to help him up. He wanted to say so much more, but his voice lost itself to sobs as he was wrapped up in the warmth of another human being. He wailed into the others chest, stepping only as he was guided further into the house after the front door was shut behind him. Shushing noises eventually registered in his chaotic mind, a moment later he realized he'd been made to sit down on a couch as he was petted and comforted. He forced himself to calm down, to steady his breaths, to get a grip. "Benjamin..." he said, meaning this time to explain himself but the other chuckled as he kept petting Alex.

"Changed your mind about spending the night, didn't you?" Benjamin said. "It's alright, you're safe now."

"No," Alex said, pulling away some and rubbing at his face. "I think I'm in trouble."

"What do you mean?" Benjamin asked, keeping a hand on Alex's back. "In trouble for what?"

He wiped the snot and tears from his face and went over the last few minutes in his mind, the last moments he spent at work. "I think...a client found me out..." I think I'm ending my own life here. He blinked and felt more tears filling his eyes. "I think they might have hurt themselves, and I don't—I called Aaron but I don't—"

"Breathe, Alexander." He obeyed, hearing the tone shift of the man sitting beside him. "Deeply, like we practiced. Good. Now, stay here. I'm going to make some calls." Benjamin stood up and Alex stayed on the couch like he was told. He wiped the last of his tears away and focused his attention on his breath. He felt so much anxiety that he shook on the exhale, but he wouldn't dare push himself up to get up and walk around when Benjamin had told him to stay put. Even as thunder rumbled outside, making him more nervous then before he committed himself to staying put.


John sat as patiently and quietly as he could with his laptop folded beside him. Given that the man he'd come here with had shown he was some super crazy psycho he had no doubt that what he'd just done was going to get him killed. But so be it. John was prepared to die. And, as he sat listening in on the phone conversation Burr was having behind him, he gathered as many little pieces of his courage as he could. He'd sent Thomas a screenshot of his location, and a text asking him to make sure his family knew he loved them, then he put his phone on silent so Thomas's inevitable attempt to blow it up wouldn't distract him. He knew he wasn't going to make it out of here alive. He just hoped, maybe for Alex's sake, that he'd be able to stop this guy from hurting anyone else. He glanced up and locked eyes with Oak, and he hoped he was right about his feelings on the man, that if he went to attack Burr then Oak would at least keep the other guards off him. Oak mouthed something to him, but John couldn't make out what it was, too determined to get up and die fighting as soon as the moment allowed him to.

"Charles, he'll be done before you know it and then you can fuck him for as long as you want. Of course, you'll still owe him a cut so I suggest you make it worth your while," Burr was saying, pacing causally behind John. "One sec; Hello?" Burr's pacing suddenly stopped and John would swear he felt the atmosphere shift in that single moment. "I'll take care of it. Stay put." He hung up his cell phone and whirled to face John. "You...little...fucking...bitch."

"serves you right, for fucking with me," John hissed. He jumped to his feet and whirled to face Burr, coming up point blank against the gun he held and freezing once more in self-preservation inspired fear. By some fucking miracle Burr wasn't a trigger happy psycho and held his shot, though the stone cold look on his face told John he was done playing games. If he wanted too, he could blow a hole clear through John's heart and it would not miss the mark. John grimaced imagining it, realizing he'd jumped too soon, he'd thrown away his only shot at taking the man down with him.

"What did you say to him?" Burr asked, too calmly, too casual. John was having a hard time focusing on anything beyond the tip of the handgun's barrel pointed at his chest. "What did you tell him?" Burr demanded again, this time sounding only a touch more angry.

"To get away from you," John said through gritted teeth. "You don't deserve him."

At that Burr actually laughed and lowered his gun, allowing John a bit more space to breathe. Burr stepped closer to him, hitting him across the face with the handle of the weapon and John stumbled to the side with the force of the hit, clutching at his face where the blow had connected, curling up on himself as he hit the floor.

"You don't know what Alex deserves," Burr told him. "And I don't know what stupid little angel fantasy you have built up in your mind for him, but believe me when I tell you, it's all bullshit. Alex is nothing more then a common whore, and if you happened to actually fall in love with him then boy, do I pity you and your stupid foolish heart." He knelt down beside John, pressing the barrel of the gun hard down into John's temple to keep his head pinned to the floor. John told himself he'd never feel the shot go off, comforted himself with the thought that it would be over soon. "Now, what else did you tell him?"

"that's all," John muttered. "i didn't tell him anything else..."

"You didn't give him your name?" Burr pressed the gun harder into John's head.

"no," John squeaked, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Well, let's see about that." The gun was almost blissfully removed as Burr got up to retrieve the laptop John had abandoned when he'd intended to go down fighting. His body shook with the fall of his courage yet again, raked with silent sobs that he was going to die here on the cold, cement floor. Burr picked John's laptop up, opening it and inputting a password he shouldn't have known to get into it. He paced as he typed single-handed into the machine, looking for what John didn't know until he heard Alex's voice from the session he'd just had. "What are you talking about? What's going on?" Alex's voice asked, and John could hear the note of panic in it. "Wait...Wait!" He closed his eyes and silently sent Alex an apology he'd thought he'd never get to tell him.

"Well," Burr's voice cut through the sudden silence that followed the end of the transmission. "I suppose you didn't tell him who you were directly." He shut the laptop once more then held it aloft and dropped it, John watched it fall to the ground and flinched as it hit the cement with what could have been an upsetting CRACK! had John not been so keenly aware that his very life was at stake. "But now you've gone and made a bigger fucking mess for me. What would I tell Alex when you turn up missing, John? Don't you think he'll have a few questions for me when his most consistent client and his new roommate goes missing on the same day?"

John smirked, he couldn't help it. "Not as stupid as you think he is, huh?" The kick to his stomach wasn't something he'd experienced since he was a teen, but time had done nothing to dull his response to the pain.

"You know John, when begging for your life you really ought to keep two things in mind," Burr told him. "The first is to entertain the person who's holding the gun." Burr gave the hand that held his weapon a small wave. "The other is it give that person enough of a reason not to pull the trigger. How do you think you're doing so far?"

"You seem to be...be laboring under...the idea that I...give a fuck..."

"Oh, I know you've stopped giving a fuck. And when exactly you gave that up, I really don't care. If you're that set on killing yourself, go home and slit your wrists. Or buy your own gun, whatever gets the job done for you. See, I could kill you John, but then I would have a mess on my hands, and I don't like dealing with a mess. That's why I was gunna let you walk. That was always my intent here, so what I wanna know is why—" He began to enunciate every word with a kick to John's body. "Are. You. Being. So. Difficult." He paused to sigh and allow John a moment to process his pain, finishing with, "To work with?

"Maybe it's the game," Burr went on. "I've made it too boring, too simple for you. I thought you would appreciate that, just shut your mouth and you'll keep everything in your life exactly the same. My apologies, I didn't realize you wanted a challenge, John." He paced a slow circle, fingers folded over themselves, pointers steepled and pushed against his lips for a moment. "So let me see if I got this straight, you want Alex to leave me, right? You seem to think he's actually worth all this effort, correct? Okay. If you can convince him to leave me by his own violation then, I suppose I could be convinced to consider letting him go. However, you can't do that by telling him who I am; see, I've already got my own game that I'm playing with Alex, I'm curious to see how long it might take him to realize on his own who I really am. So far I've been winning for the last 4 years. If you ruin that, we will move into a new game, lightening round. One where I will make you decide wither you're going to save your little sister's life or his, and if you don't choose you'll kill them both.

"And of course you can't tell him who you are; if you open your mouth about the fact that you're a client of his then I'm going to start with Mary, and then move on to Elias, and then your brother Henry, and even Martha. I will snatch them up one-by-one and sell each of them off to the highest bidder. And that will become the new game, how many of your precious little siblings will you sacrifice before you tell your parents what sick perversion you indulged in that got them taken. If you tell them before I get to you, and provided there's anything left for me to retrieve, I'll return whatever parts and pieces are left over, along with that sweet little sex tape we made. And mind you, I know how fast they'll sell, John. You won't have more then three days at most. Then I'll just sit back and let mommy and daddy decide what they're gunna do with you.

"Oh, and one more thing, only cuz I'm feeling generous today," Burr said as he slowly paced the room, paying John no mind. "I know there's someone who works among my employees who is capable of getting you and Alex out, unscratched. Now, I'm not exactly sure who..." He didn't see the way John's eyes immediately darted to Oak, or the way Oak subtly shook his head. "...But if you happen to figure that out, consider it the home base in tag." He stopped his pacing and turned to John, following his eyes to the guard he was watching. Burr lifted his gun and shot the man before anyone could say anything and John flinched as he fell to the floor, dead. "Well, I really hope that wasn't him John, otherwise you're fucked. Now, do you understand the position you're in?"

John trembled on the floor and tried to nod his head.

"I can't hear you, John. Do you understand the position you're in now?"

"Yeh-yes," John stuttered, petrified.

"Good." Burr's phone began to ring again and he pulled it out to look at the caller ID. "Now, I have to take this. Oak will see you out. And Ash, get someone to clean up this mess." Burr stepped on John as he took the most direct way to the only exit and left, answering the call with a, "Hello Benjamin, I assume Alex is with you?"

END CHAPTER