Intoxication

Chapter 14

Sorry this one's late. I was in Cork until today. This fic's almost over. After this I'll be writing a sequel, but I need a hiatus. It's pretty depressing, isn't it?

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Kai woke up to a cold, moist feeling on his forehead. He reached his hand over to find a wet flannel on his head.

" About time you woke up."

He looked over to where Tala was sitting beside his bed, leafing through a collection of stapled sheets. Kai sat up, rubbing his aching head.

" What happened?"

Tala looked away from his sheets to meet Kai's eyes.

" You fainted. I'm not surprised, you've been under a lot of mental strain, more so than anyone else. I was expecting you to conk out sooner or later. You've been out for two days."

Kai was about to leap out of bed when Tala's hand shot out and pushed him back against the pillows. He felt awful for sleeping while Rei was still locked up by some lunatic, and now that he was awake he desperately wanted to come to his team mate's aid. He pushed against the hand, but Tala held him firm.

" Let me go, Tala! We know where Rei is, we need to get him out now!"

" Hold on. I did some research on this Andolini guy. We need to approach him with caution. Any clumsiness from us could result in Rei being killed. You don't want that, do you?"

Kai went white at the thought of Rei being murdered because of foolish haste on his part. He sat back to listen to what Tala had to say. Tala nodded approvingly and picked up his sheets again.

" Francis Andolini the 2nd, twenty eight years old. Arrested in 1992 at the age of sixteen and incarcerated in Stanton Memorial Mental Facility. Apparently, he murdered his mother and a servant she was having an affair with. He missed the death sentence because he had her body stuffed and preserved with formaldehyde and dressed in her wedding gown. He thought she was still alive."

Every word he spoke about the man was like a dagger through Kai's heart, but he braced himself. This madman was holding a person very dear to his heart captive, he needed to know what he was likely to do.

" According to this report, he formed a friendship with a Marcus Smythe, a convicted kidnapper and arsonist. He probably picked up some tips on kidnapping from that guy, but no one discouraged the relationship. It was believed that they became lovers too. A report from his fifth year says that he developed a deep distrust of women."

Tala paused in his reading and looked at Kai with concern. Kai nodded, and Tala continued.

" During his seventh year, he was released on good behaviour. His father died of a suspected heart attack five months later. Andolini became a recluse, barricading himself in his mansion. Visiting doctors said he turned the place into a Renaissance-style manor, filled with replicas of artwork from the era. There were repeated incidents of disturbing behaviour reported by locals, but the police ignored them. They even ignored a case where a body was found in the river by some children on a nature hike, stuffed and mounted on a plaque. I looked into it, and guess who funds the local government, including the police?"

" Andolini." Kai swallowed, hard.

" You got it. Everyone knows he's a weirdo, but they ignore it as long as he foots their bills. The commissioner's own arrest over child molestation charges was dropped when Andolini paid the bail."

Tala placed his sheets on the ground and leaned in close to Kai.

" This guy's a professional, Kai. We need to approach this with caution. I'm betting he won't have guns or long-range weapons, but he probably has guard dogs or high-tech security. We've had training in the Abbey to deal with that, so the two of us are going on the offence. Bryan, Ian and Spencer are going to search the manor for other prisoners. Takao and Max got upset when they thought they wouldn't be involved, but I have them on the outskirts as lookouts. They'll call for ambulances or police when we need them. We also need the press there when we break them out, just so there's no chance of a cover-up."

Kai stared at Tala. He had things so well thought out!

" Is that okay with you?"

Kai smiled in response, and felt tears form at the corner of his eyes.

" Perfect. I don't know what I'd have done without you…"

He had to break off there as he felt his voice go husky, a sign of his oncoming tears. Tala rolled his eyes.

" For God's sake, Kai. Save the sap for Rei when you see him again. If you don't tell him how you feel about him after all this, I'll punch you myself! We leave in twenty minutes, so be ready."

Kai looked out the window, noticing that it was dark for the first time since he'd woken up. When he turned back around, Tala was gone.

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Rei was summoned to the ballroom for supper after it turned dark. He was instructed to bathe and wash his hair beforehand, which he did in a lacklustre fashion. He found his vision was getting more and more blurred, whenever the girls showed up he could barely make out their faces. He found that there was blood pooling under his eye sockets, most likely from the force of his vomiting fits. He thought he looked like a panda. His cheeks were hollow, too.

Poor Rei. You could still get lucky, you know. At the rate you're going, you might just fall over and die before he gets a chance to fuck you.

Don't talk like that! You rebelled, and look what happened. That stint in the torture room just made what was already happening worse. You should have just left well enough alone, Rei. Behave yourself now and you might survive.

Rei heard them speak, but he couldn't see them. With a sigh, he pulled on his clothes. The one advantage of his blurry vision was that he couldn't see his reflection in the many mirrors in the bathroom. Seeing his face in a reflective surface reminded him of his mother. He pushed in his brace, which hurt his jaw as it pushed his teeth back, and ran the provided cheap plastic hairbrush through his damp ebony locks.

The door beeped and swung open, and Rei walked down the hall. The walls were fuzzy and vaguely defined, so he had to follow the smell of the food coming from the ballroom. He entered the giant space and shivered, the marble floor like ice under his bare feet. The table loomed into view, along with the other men seated at it. He took the empty seat near the end of the table, stumbling as he went.

Looking around, he saw the concerned expressions of the men nearest him. They didn't look fantastic themselves, but he knew he looked dreadful. He felt dreadful. They all sat in silence, the only noise made being the occasional sound of someone fidgeting in their seat or coughing softly.

Then there was a light tapping sound against the marble, heralding the arrival of Cesare.

He was dressed more flamboyantly than usual, his black frock coat trimmed with fur and an inch-high heel added to his shoes. His mask was the same, but painted red and black instead of white and black. He held an ivory tipped cane in one hand, the other clutched a glass of scotch. He looked as though he were celebrating something. He took his seat and refrained from speaking to anyone as the meal commenced, just waved his hand when he wanted something done. The prisoners ate in silence, and after the meal he dismissed all of them except for Rei.

The cane tapped ominously as Cesare walked behind Rei. The silence loomed, filled only with Rei's deep breathing. To add to the discomfort of his illness, he had a feeling that something terrible was going to happen. Cesare's fingers trailed through his hair, again and again and again, before he spoke.

" Your hair is looking much better. Healthier, no split ends, much better."

To emphasise his point, Cesare pressed the mouthpiece of his mask to the top of Rei's head. Healthier? Rei could hardly believe the man believed what he was saying. How could he talk about his health when it was so obvious he was half-dead? Cesare turned Rei's chair around so he could see his face. He took Rei's chin in his hand and opened his mouth to look at his teeth, as though he were inspecting a horse. Cesare's fingers probed inside his mouth, and removed his brace, none too gently.

" Your teeth are already improving. Marvellous. Your posture is a little crooked, but we'll work on that next, won't we?"

Of course it's crooked, hissed Rei in his head, you dislocated my shoulder and conveniently forgot about it!

" You're coming along quite nicely, Rei. You're almost complete. Now, I need you to tell me something."

Seemed simple enough, so why did Rei feel so alarmed?

" What?" he asked hesitantly.

" I want you to tell me you love me."

Ay, there's the rub. It would have been so easy, and Rei had feigned affection before. So why was he feeling so enraged this time? He's never told anyone he loved them, not even his father. He'd had it said to him plenty of times, some sincere, some not. And he's thought about saying it, too. When he'd had that enormous crush on Kai, fantasized about him day and night, he's dreamed of saying ' I love you' to him and having Kai say it back. After yet another incident with misplaced affection, he'd buried his feeling for Kai to the back of his mind with all his bad memories. So why was he thinking about Kai at that moment? Possibly because he knew he was going to die. Europa appeared one last time, to pour her own vitriol onto Rei's poisonous thoughts.

Bastard. You know what his plan is, don't you? He knows you won't mean it if you say it. But you will say it, again and again. And every time he treats you nicely, gives you a gift, shows you affection, you'll say it, and believe it just a little more. Little by little, you'll convince yourself that you love him. And then he'll have you forever. Don't say it, Rei.

" No," said Rei, quietly. Not so quiet that Cesare didn't hear. The blow Rei was expecting never came. Instead, Cesare stood up and walked to the end of the table. There was a plate sitting at the edge, covered with a silver lid. Cesare picked it up and walked back, and placed the plate before Rei.

" Lift the lid," he said, sounding ever so slightly angry. Rei lifted the lid, to find a beautiful purple flower sitting on the plate.

" Do you know what that is, Rei?"

Rei shook his head, feeling his headache burn through to his throat.

" It's a very old plant. Flourished in Italy during the Renaissance. Thought it very fitting for the two of us."

Cesare sipped his Scotch, then leaned forward to gently stroke the petals of the flower. His head rested on Rei's shoulder, and the Chinese boy could smell his foul breath.

" They called it 'belladonna.' Beautiful woman. They didn't like to acknowledge such beauty could also be found in the male of the species. I think it was so named because noble ladies would have it ground down to a liquid and then they would place tiny drops into their eyes, to make them dilate and seem bigger."

He stroked Rei's face and turned it to meet his gaze.

" Your eyes have been dilated for quite some time now," he said, " very nice. You, know, belladonna was very popular with the Borgias. Not because they had so many mistresses, although they did. It was because it was a very potent poison."

Rei's blood ran cold.

" Of course, I haven't given you enough to kill you. Just tiny amounts in your food, every now and then, just enough to make you feel a little queasy. The symptoms include hallucinations, fever, sore muscles, but I don't think you've gone that far yet."

Queasy? screeched Europa, Queasy? You've puked blood! That sick bastard!!

" I have the antidote, so you needn't worry so much. I'll give it to you soon, you look like you could use it."

Rei breathed a sigh of relief..

" When you say you love me, that is."

Great. Your life in his hands. But that's been the situation from day one, hasn't it? Hallucinations, right? What do you call me, and the frigid bitch, and the naked chick? Not to mention your poor, departed ma. You haven't thought of your team mates, your friends, since you got here! Damned if you do, damned if you don't, sweetie. Proof is in the pudding, remember? She's not stupid. Now, how much do you value your life?

Rei knew the answer. He took a deep breath.

" Fuck your antidote. I don't need it. I will never pollute those words by saying them to you. I hate you, more than I've ever hated anyone. I'd rather die than tell you I have any feelings for you apart from hate."

For just an moment, it felt as though the world itself had stopped turning, and everyone on it had disappeared.

Then Rei felt something hitting his face with all the force of a clap of thunder. He fell to the ground as something warm and sticky poured down his jaw. Rough hands caught him around the waist and slammed him into the table. Those hands left his waist and wrapped around his throat. As his air was cut off and his vision dimmed, Rei found himself staring deep into Cesare's eyes. Maybe it was the blood filling his eye sockets, but for a moment the sockets in the mask appeared to be deep, flaming red.

Rei heard a sound like glass shattering, and the world turned black.