Intoxication

Chapter Nine

Since I'm not going to be here on Thursday, I started this Chapter early. I'm feeling a little hasty now, since I know how it ends and I want it out there. Plus I know there's gonna be a sequel, and I'd like to start it as soon as possible. Please keep those reviews coming in, I treasure each and every one of them.

Just in case you want to heighten the reading experience, the music featured in this Chapter is from 'La Forzi Del Destino' which is by Verdi, not Puccini as I claimed in the last chapter. It's heavily featured on the 'Jean De Florette' soundtrack, and the Stella Artois ads.

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The sound of Takao's bones cracking as he stretched woke Kai from his half-sleep and alerted him to just how late it was. Brian had been on the computer since five o clock in the afternoon. At around nine Spencer and Max left the hotel room for pizza, which everyone was grateful for. At ten they finished eating, Max, Spencer and Ian went to get some much needed sleep. The other five boys (they needed Kenny to navigate through the net) stayed awake in case they ran into a breakthrough.

For a long time, there was only silence. Brian surfed the net with Kenny's help. Tala leafed through the evidence. Takao was half-asleep and doing nothing, but he already insisted he had to be alert as long as Rei was missing. Kai wasn't doing anything either, and like Takao he felt he wouldn't be able to sleep even if he wanted to. But these waking, idle moments gave him time to reflect on why he was so upset over this whole incident.

First and foremost, Rei was his friend, whatever that meant. He had agonized for a long time over the very nature of this friendship his team mates were so insistent about, and hadn't been able to come to any sort of a conclusion. But this had knocked him for six. Sure, if Max or Takao or Kenny had gone missing he'd be upset. If Takao had been run over by some drunk driver, if Max had been shot by some psycho, if Kenny had been murdered by a burglar, he'd go to their funerals, even shed a few tears. But this was different. Why?

Maybe it was because he didn't know if Rei was alive or dead. Maybe it was because if Rei was alive he was frightened and in terrible pain and all alone. Maybe it was because if he was dead he could be lying in a ditch somewhere, violated, missing limbs and decomposed. Maybe it was because it was a rapist Rei was being held by, and he couldn't imagine what that could be like. He wondered, if they even found Rei, would he have the will to live after going through such an ordeal? Maybe he felt so bad about this because Rei was just the kind of person that carried an air of melancholy around him, even when he seemed happy. Kai had noticed this about Rei, although he never paid any attention until Rei went missing. And then, he saw in retrospect how Rei dodged questions about certain subjects, how he never smiled without an almost imperceptible glimmer of sadness in his eyes, how he insisted on being friendly with everyone but never got too close.

And now that Rei was gone, Kai found himself thinking of his team mate in ways he'd never thought of anyone before. He recalled insignificant things, like how different Rei looked sleeping as opposed to awake, how he smelled after getting out of the shower, his expression when he was deep in thought, they played in Kai's mind like a video. While they sat around getting information in dribs and drabs, all Kai wanted to do was find Rei, get to him and comfort him. That was something he couldn't have done for anyone else.

A call from Brian brought all the boys out of their introspective moments, and they hurried to look at the computer screen. A sheet full of numbers was displayed.

" We got Renaissance Man's Credit Card bills," declared Kenny proudly.

Since they found the handle of a man who disappeared from the fetish sites a year after the men started going missing, they had made him their prime suspect. Most of the sites required passwords that could be purchased online with a credit card from a sister site. Renaissance Man had bought hundreds of passwords on several different cards, so he had to be independently wealthy and possessed of a lot of free time. The cards were signed in different names, so Brian and Kenny had spent hours trying to trace the names to something tangible. And it looked like they finally had.

" Surprise, Surprise," Brian muttered, " Grayson Daly's on every card."

" What does that mean?" asked Takao.

" Grayson Daly is a shoe designer. He never makes any more than a hundred of any design, and they cost a solid fortune. For someone with a foot fetish, owning just one pair is an achievement. This guy has at least two hundred."

" He has to be using one of these cards for something other than shoes and passwords," said Kenny with more enthusiasm than any of them had been able to muster all day, " Once we can link it to an address we're home free."

Kai felt a ton weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, but it was just the tip of the iceberg. The rest could be lifted off when he saw Rei again.

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Europa, Io and the nymph had stayed quiet while Rei was learning the musical notes. Perhaps they understood that the test could very well mean the difference between life and death. Or perhaps they saw it the way Rei did, that they had nothing better to do so they might as well focus on the task at hand. Either way, Rei learned the notes in almost perfect silence.

The day of the test, even Rei had to admit he'd put some effort into his appearance. He washed his body and face with something like enthusiasm, brushed his hair out until it shone like silk, he even sat rather than lay on the bed to avoid rumpling his clothes. He knew he wasn't excited, but at the very least he was intrigued as to what would happen next. He felt his heart leap into his throat when the three beeps sounded and the door swung open.

Cesare wasn't there, but the way was lit with the arrangement of lamps in the hallway. Rei followed the lamps, ignoring the dark hallways and not taking the time to look at the paintings on every wall he passed. He arrived at the room, the only one with a light on and an open door, but even without these hints he knew Cesare was inside. He could almost smell him.

The room was another enormous ballroom, with marble floors that froze Rei's bare feet and a high domed ceiling. There was only one piece of furniture, a small wooden stool that Cesare stood by. The cello case lay beside the stool like an old dog. Cesare beckoned to Rei, and Rei stepped daintily across the cold floor.

" Rei," Cesare greeted him warmly, but not pleasantly, " have a seat."

Rei sat on the stool, and expected Cesare to open the case so they could begin. He didn't, and it was only then that Rei noticed a thick piece of wood lying beside the cello case. He felt panic well up inside of him as Europa began to speak.

And you thought things were getting better, Rei? Ha! He's a fucking psycho! You knew that and you still let yourself have hope! That's your problem, Rei, you think the best of these situations and then you're surprised when you get let down. How stupid can you get?

Cesare picked up the piece of wood while Rei eyeballed it. His voice was as cold as the marble floor.

" Take off your shirt, Rei. You can leave the trousers on."

Rei's hands shook as he pulled at the sash holding his shirt on. The shirt slipped to the floor with a soft hiss. Cesare went behind him and gathered up his hair in both hands, twisted it into a crude braid, and slipped it down the front of his body. Rei's back was completely exposed, he gave an involuntary shiver. Cesare ran his fingers down his captive's spine lovingly.

" Open the case, Rei."

The clasps snapped as Rei opened them, and the scent of varnish that spilled out was sweet compared to Cesare's poisonous odour. Cesare slapped the wood lightly into the palm of his hand.

" Take it out."

The cello was smooth as glass under Rei's fingers, but he felt uncomfortable holding it, like a little girl in her mother's shoes. He felt Cesare's hands caress his naked shoulders, and then a gloved hand touched the spine of the instrument where a small groove had been cut.

" Hold down the strings at these grooves to moderate the pitch of the note. Otherwise, play the note as it is. Test the notes."

Rei drew the bow across the strings, sounding out each note and identifying them as they related to the sheets he memorized. Cesare squeezed his shoulder gently to make him stop.

" And now you will play the song."

Rei couldn't believe his ears. Cesare expected him to play perfectly after just getting the instrument?

" But…"

" Pain," Cesare interrupted loudly, " has been outlawed as a method of teaching humans. We still use it to teach dogs, horses livestock, but when used on humans it's considered cruel. But I find that it's the best way to instruct a creature, any creature, when you want great results, and fast. So here's what we'll do…"

He ran his hands across Rei's back, a little forcefully.

" Every inch of this flesh is covered with tiny nerve endings. When there's a disturbance, those nerves send a message to the brain to say that something's not right. Now, when a large, blunt object such as the one I'm holding," he slapped the stick again for emphasis, " is used on these nerve endings, it doesn't tear the skin or cause bleeding, but every one of those nerves in the path of the strike is not only damaged, but crushed. It's nerve genocide."

Rei was shaking visibly now. If Cesare noticed he said nothing.

" There will be a welt, then a bruise, but in a month there won't be any sign of a disturbance. I wouldn't do anything to damage you permanently. So now you shall play the music, and for every wrong note, I shall use this on you. So play well."

There was silence. Rei picked up the bow and hesitated, trying to delay the performance. Then he sensed Cesare's growing impatience and began.

For a few moments, things went well. Rei recalled the notes and where they lay on the instrument. The music was slow and melancholy, and he allowed himself to drift with the melody. Until his finger slipped and hit the wrong note.

Crack!

Cesare brought the wood down hard on Rei's back. The three vertebrae that had been in the path of the wood felt as though they had been set on fire, and there was a feeling of gushing fluid in the surrounding muscle. Rei took deep gulps of air to calm the sting in his lungs.

" Start again," hissed Cesare.

Rei picked up the bow and started again. His hands were shaking, he didn't even get as far as he had the first time. He hit two notes at the one time.

Crack!

Six vertebrae were on fire now, and the gushing feeling covered a quarter of his back. He started again. He played five right notes before he made another mistake.

Crack!

It was when Rei was recovering from the third blow that Europa began speaking perfect sense.

He doesn't want you to get this right, Rei. He wants you to screw it up so he can punish you. He gets a kick out of it. He'll probably jerk off thinking of your feeble attempts to please him tonight. And do you know what? The pain isn't really the worst thing. It's waiting for the pain! He knows this, that's why he's making you do this. He knows you can't do it! So drop the bow and take the hit. Can't be any worse than what you've already got. Take the hit, Rei. Don't give him the satisfaction and stop torturing yourself. Take the hit. Drop the bow and take the hit. Consequences be damned. Take the hit.

Rei threw down the bow and focused his gaze into the distance. The cello dropped from his grasp as the blows rained down on his back, again and again and again. The wood broke in half after the seventh blow, and still Cesare kept beating. The pain faded slightly as Rei's vision swam, and the last thing he saw was the ground rushing up to meet him.

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When Rei woke up, he was back in his cell, naked under the sheets of the bed. The muscles of his back burned as he moved, even breathing was difficult. His shoulder was set at an awkward angle, so much so that Rei believed it was broken. All the same, his small act of defiance made him feel it was worth it.