Chapter 47: Cell Block Talk
The four men could only look on in with various degrees of disgust and anger on their faces as their captors watched them intently, with Mr. S looking the most pleased out of the lot.
The Romanian kept his gaze on Randy the longest, as if he was daring him to say anything, but the Viper wasn't rising to the bait. Instead, the tattooed vampire simply glared at the blonde, but it only made Mr. S smirk even more.
"Didn't expect to see your oh so punchable face here so soon," John decided to say, breaking through the tense silence that had engulfed the group. "You missed us already?"
"As if I could ever get enough of your wonderful faces," Mr. S mused, sarcasm dripping from his tone as he turned to Punk. ". . . Cena is supposed to be the funny one, correct?"
"He usually is, but sometimes his jokes just don't land with his audience," Punk admitted, shrugging.
"And he even jokes when he's in complete danger?" One of the guards dared to ask as he jutted his thumb at the strongman.
"Some say he does it to cope with the stress of the job," Punk answered, smirking when he noticed the scowl that was marking John's face. ". . . Am I wrong though? Feel free to answer if you want."
"I see your penchant for sarcasm hasn't waned since you got kicked out of the organization." John bit back in return.
"It never left," Punk corrected. The two had a very tense relationship back when they still worked under the same employer, and it appeared that animosity was still as strong as ever. ". . . Anyway John, I'd love to continue this enthralling line of conversation, but I'm not the person you should be answering to."
"That would be me, and you all have a lot to answer for. . ."
"Pot calling the kettle black Mr. S," Ted dared to say with a smirk. The guards scowled at the remarks, and Punk simply shrugged, but Mr. S continued to smile. "Yeah, we did some shit, but you and your cronies have also pulled some shit, so you trying to call us out on our shit is a bit hypocritical, don't you think?"
"Hmm . . . Has DiBiase always been this crass with his language?" Mr. S asked, turning to Punk once again.
"Not usually . . . He knows when to hold his tongue," Punk explained. "This is just him being rude."
"I see. Leon, do you mind?" Mr. S asked as he turned to the henchman that hadn't spoken earlier. The redheaded man simply nodded before turning to Ted's cell, his unnerving gaze locked in on the man's legs as he snapped his fingers in his direction.
"What the he-AARGH?!" Ted started to say, only to cut off when he felt a searing pain in his right leg. Looking down, his eyes widened in shock as he saw that his entire shin was covered in flames. Thinking it was just an illusion, he moved to pat it down, only to flinch away as soon as he felt the flames lick his hand.
"Oh crap, the flames are real!" John whispered in disbelief as Cody watched in muted shock. Randy seemed to be the only one that appeared to not be physically disturbed by the sight, but his eyes showed the faintest hint of worry for his friend as he hopped on his non-burning leg, waving around the other one in a vain attempt to stop it.
Yeah, fire and vampires really didn't mix.
"So, you're the kind of guy that likes to torture his captives huh?" Randy decided to say, averting his eyes from Ted to focus on Mr. S once again.
"Only the ones I'm interested in Randal," Mr. S conceded. "Leon, you could stop now."
Leon quietly nodded before snapping his fingers again, the flames disappearing on command, revealing the damage underneath. Luckily for Ted, the fire hadn't burned through to the bone, but it was enough to leave his shin a mess of burnt flesh and muscle that would have made those with weaker stomachs absolutely squeamish.
"So, you have a pyrokinetic on your payroll. . ." Cody grumbled as Ted leaned himself against one of his cell's walls, grimacing as the pain started to really set in. ". . . How nice for you."
"Leon has been with me for a long time now . . . Discovered him while checking out one of Barcelona's premier underground clubs," Mr. S explained as he smirked at. "It had a circus theme to it, but surprisingly, he wasn't one of the flame specialists they had on staff."
"Oh, so he was a bouncer then? Bodyguard?" John decided to ask.
"Bartender; the man makes a mean flaming mojito, well, from what I've been told," Punk explained.
"He can make non alcoholic options for you if you want," Mr. S pointed out, but Punk simply shook his employer off. "Your loss, I suppose . . ."
"I hate to cut this conversation short, but what is the point of all this?" Randy decided to ask. "If it was simply to shut Ted up, well, mission accomplished, I guess."
"Really Randy!?" Ted called out from his cell.
"You have to admit that your tendency to run your mouth at times has gotten you into trouble in the past dude," Cody called after him, his words shutting his friend up almost immediately. "No argument there huh?"
"No comment."
"It's amazing how chatty you guys can get, even in captivity," Mr. S mused as he looked around at the four. "Especially you Cody . . . I figured you wouldn't be so talkative compared to the others. After all, reuniting with your mate, and then losing her again in quick succession can really hurt a vampire's psyche."
Cody couldn't hold back the growl that emerged from his throat as a result of the man's words, but aside from the noticeable tightening of his fist and the hatred in his eyes, the mustachioed vampire didn't rise to the man's bait. Randy, who was technically in the same situation Mr. S just described, watched on silently, trying hard to not let his emotions show on his face.
"Oh, no response?" Mr. S asked, slightly amused. "You're better than most in that regard . . . And what about you Randal?"
"What about me?" The Viper growled out, keeping his voice controlled despite having the growing urge to yell at the other man.
"Isn't it obvious?" He asked, smirking as he slowly approached Randy's cell. "I know you're smarter than that . . . Amanda's your mate. Did you really think that you could hide such a detail from me?"
Despite his best efforts, Randy couldn't stop his eyes from widening at the admission, which only made Mr. S's smirk grow into a full-blown smile, an expression that was mirrored by Punk and his guards.
"How. . . How does he know that?" John whispered, though his words could easily be heard by everyone with enhanced hearing, which was everyone aside from him and Punk. "How could he have known that?!"
"Your guess is as good as mine John," Ted answered, grimacing as he looked down at his wounded leg, being careful not to put that much weight on it as it slowly healed. Cody could only silently watch as the standoff continued, keeping his eyes on Randy to see how he would react next.
"Keep calm Randy. . ." He thought. "Do not let this bastard get to you."
"Amanda is my mate. . ." The Viper said slowly, pretty much confirming what the blonde said. He could have lied, but vampires weren't really the best when it came to lying to each other, no matter how well trained they were. "And how in the hell did you find out about that?"
"One of my associates has a knack for sensing a person's relationships, from the familial to the romantic, well, possibly romantic in your case," Mr. S calmly explained. "Tell me this Randal . . . Does Amanda know that you two are fated for each other?"
"Knowing his past, I'm sure he never bothered to tell her," Punk cut in, smirking when he saw Randy's stoic facade start to falter. "Oh yeah, that little flinch of the mouth he just pulled tells you all you need to know. . . He's still hung up over Sam after all."
"Oh, I've heard about that. . ." Mr. S mumbled, keenly watching the Viper's expression for any sign that he was affected by these words. "Punk explained to me that the loss of your first lady love had quite the impact on you when it happened . . . It's pretty much the reason why you act the way you do now."
"It's the only reason why he acts the way he does now," Punk added as he moved to stand beside his boss. "He was the immature, cocky partier that somehow always managed to pull off successful mission after successful mission . . . You would think he would fall flat on his face on one of those occasions, but nah, he always managed to keep his . . . issues off the clock."
"Aw, you sound jealous there Punky. . ." Randy groused, almost smirking as he looked directly at the Chicago native.
"Hmm, as if I could ever be jealous of your bad habits Randy," Punk mused as he stretched out his fingers. "Granted, you do have one of the better sets of body ink in our profession, but other than that. . . meh."
"You're impressed by his tattoos, and nothing else?" Mr. S couldn't help but ask as he turned to the man who was essentially his right hand.
"Yeah, pretty much," Punk conceded. ". . . Wait, we're getting off tangent. What were we supposed to be talking about again?"
"We were talking about how the loss of Sam caused our captured Viper here to become the man he is today," Mr. S calmly explained. "Considering that he doesn't know Amanda as deeply as he did Sam, I'm sure the separation isn't affecting him that badly from an emotional standpoint . . . for now."
"Pfft, emotional standpoint?" Punk asked, looking slightly incredulous at his boss. "What about the primal standpoint? You vampires can be all tough and strong if you like, but that all goes out the window once the soulmate gets involved! He may look calm and collected now, but that primal, instinctual side that I know that all you vampires have deep down inside is probably rattling its cage, waiting to come out if you do any harm to the psychic's pretty little head!"
"Hmm, I'm sure you're not wrong," Mr. S mused, looking amused by his subordinate's rant as he turned his eyes back on the still glaring Viper. "But that's what I'm banking on."
"Come again?" Ted asked, looking confused as John watched on with wide eyes.
"Isn't it obvious?' Cody asked. "He's going to use Amanda as his ace in the hole against Randy. If he acts up in any way or doesn't give him what he wants, he will retaliate by going after her."
"That doesn't sound so smart. . ." John mused as he turned to the Romanian. "You need Amanda for your plans. You would never harm her."
"Physically, no. I would never hurt her in that way," Mr. S conceded. "But I do have my ways to get what I want. . . If you know what's good for her, and her friends for that matter, you won't push me down that route."
A low growl noticeably erupted from Cody's throat as John and Ted glared at the Romanian with narrowed eyes, but he ignored all their reactions in favor of watching for Randy's own. The Viper wasn't giving much away, but his eyes were what made Mr. S truly smile.
It's not every day one can elicit so much hate from a single person's glare after all.
"Hmm, speaking of the girls, I better go see them. You know, check in on how they're faring after your failed break in and all that," Mr. S practically gloated as he started to step away. ". . . You'll see me again soon enough."
"And just when we were getting used to you talking our heads off. . ." John quietly mumbled as the group left, Mr. S sending one last smirk his way before disappearing from their sight with his posse in tow.
He didn't speak again until he knew for sure that their captors were way out of earshot. "Okay, this sucks!"
"Hey!" Ted groused as he looked at his friend. "At least part of your leg wasn't barbecued to ruin!"
"True," John conceded, knowing that he was in the better position between the two. "How is your leg anyway?"
"It's healing, but it's definitely slow going," He admitted as looked down at his shin, which still showed much more muscle than skin. "It's going to take at least a good 24 hours before my leg is back to decent health, and I'm being generous with my estimate . . . That fire, there was some intense heat in those flames man."
"That Leon guy summoned a fire with flames so intense that it caused damage that would have forced most doctors to amputate your leg, well, if you were human of course," Cody analyzed. "I have to admit, despite the urge I have to punch that piece of shit square in the face, he's surrounded himself with some capable cronies."
"Pyrokinetics, psychics, ex-organization rejects. . . He has definitely splurged to have some powerful people on his payroll," John grumbled. ". . . And with Amanda and Kaitlyn under his control, that's two other powerful cogs in his arsenal."
"He's going to try that much harder to put Kelly under his control, I can tell you that much," Cody mused as he crossed his arms against his chest. "As for Kaitlyn, I think. . ."
"What?" Ted asked, forgetting his injury as he looked at his friend's wide eyes. "What are you thinking dude?"
"You guys may think I'm crazy for saying this, but I think. . ." Cody mumbled, cutting himself off before continuing. "I think that me biting Kaitlyn may have interfered with her mind control somehow."
"Your biting of Kaitlyn interfered with her mind control?" Ted asked, his eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion. "Do tell. . . Please explain!"
"Well, it's kinda hard to explain. . ." Cody mused as he started pacing his cell. "When I bit her neck and tasted her blood, at first, her memories were all a mess. Not only were they able to manipulate some memories so that they were changed to fit Mr. S's narrative, but they imported entirely fake ones as well."
"And you were able to tell all that by simply drinking her blood?" John asked. "Wow! You vampires really amaze me sometimes."
"Enough that you would be willing to become one of us?" Ted asked, smirking as John shook his head no. "Thought so!"
"My father told me about this weird quirk of our species when I was younger. I didn't understand it at the time, but I do remember it," Cody continued as he kept to his pacing. "The first set of memories that I saw were either messed up or fake, but as time wore on, I started to see new memories, the real ones. . . They've been suppressed, and I think my culling of Kaitlyn's behavior helped to bring it to the forefront somehow."
"Thus, the interference of her brainwashing," Ted concluded. "This could be good for us."
"Kaitlyn may become confused as a result. She may start asking questions, but that would make Mr. S and his posse suspicious that something is off with her," John pointed out. "They would recondition her as a result."
"Then we'll just have to hope that Kaitlyn will keep her mouth shut and act as normal as possible while putting two and two together," Randy admitted, speaking for the first time in a while.
"And here I thought you had lost your voice man!" Came John's immediate reply as he turned to his friend.
"I'm sorry for my silence, but I just needed to recalibrate my thoughts after going through that conversation just now," He admitted. "He needs to be stopped, but I'll admit it, he and Punk were not wrong about one thing."
"And that would be . . ?" John asked.
"My primal side," Randy quietly admitted as he brought a hand to the back of his head. "My relationship with Amanda is not the same as my one with Sam. . ."
"Well, not yet anyway," John mused, clamping his mouth shut when Randy stared at him. "Sorry. . ."
"It's alright. I understand what you were trying to say," Randy mused, not looking the least bit disturbed. "As I was saying, the two relationships are not the same. For starters, my more innate primal side is much more active with Amanda now in the picture compared to when Sam was still alive."
"And it won't stop till you finally have her in your arms. . . Trust me, it's the same with me in regard to Kaitlyn," Cody mumbled. "Look, I understand that you're still on the fence about starting a new romantic relationship after what happened with Sam, but it's not like your bond is forcing you to make things official with Amanda . . . At most, it's forcing you to recognize that yes, you finally have your other half in your life, and it's about time you recognize it."
"That's the thing. . . I do recognize Amanda as my mate, well, I'm starting to, but my . . . emotional handicap is preventing me from taking that next step forward." Randy finally admitted in a huff, looking up to see his friends grinning like idiots, well, John and Ted were. Cody was a lot demurer with his. "What?!"
"It's just good to know that you're not emotionally stilted after all my man." John admitted.
"You are being very mature about this dude. . . After all, the first step in confronting your issue is admitting that you have one." Ted added.
"At the very least, you are going to tell Amanda that you and her are soulmates right?" Cody asked. "Well, once we break her free from her mind control of course."
"Definitely. . ." Randy conceded. ". . . I owe her the truth after all."
"And before that can happen, we still have to break ourselves out of here," John reminded them as he gestured at their surroundings. "Anyone got any ideas?"
"Yeah, about that. . ." Randy mumbled as he gestured at his cell. ". . . This is going to take a while."
"Oh joy. . ."
A/N: Please review!