Chapter 8: Deluded Minions

After Crandall and his goons had been gone for a few minutes, Benton got Jonny to stand up and took him through the bedroom and into the bathroom. He sat him down on the edge of the tub. "I'm sorry, Jonny," he said miserably, looking at his son's bruised and swelling face. He got a washcloth wet and knelt down in front of him. He shouldn't have hesitated, he should just have told Crandall everything he wanted to know.

"It's not your fault, Dad," Jonny said, reaching out and putting his hand on his shoulder. "I'm just glad it's me and not you." Benton's jaw dropped. "Younger people heal faster." Jonny tried to smile, but he winced.

Benton took in a deep breath. He didn't think Jonny would understand if he started crying right now. "Let's get you cleaned up," he said. Very gently, he wiped away the blood on Jonny's face. As he was rinsing out the washcloth to continue, he heard the door open.

He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes. Who the hell is it now? "Jonny, stay here," he said, then went out into the bedroom. Patricia stood there, holding a tray with ice pack and some pills. Benton reached out for it, but she didn't give it to him. "Give it here," he said.

"Why aren't you cooperating?" she said. "I don't understand. I thought you were cooperating."

"Give me the ice pack," he growled. "Jonny's in there and he's in pain."

Her eyes widened, looking at something behind him. He turned and saw that Jonny had emerged from the bathroom. "I told you to stay in there."

"I was afraid someone had come to take you away," Jonny said.

Patricia put the tray down on the bed and picked up the ice pack, which was already wrapped in soft cloth. "What on earth was he thinking?" she asked as she went toward Jonny.

Benton stepped between them and put out his hand. "Please give that to me."

She handed it over, saying, "I wouldn't hurt him, Dr. Quest, really."

He took it but didn't speak, just turning back to Jonny. He placed the ice pack very carefully against Jonny's face, and put an arm around his shoulder, guiding him to sit on the bed. "Son, can you sit here for me for a minute? I want to talk to Patricia in the next room."

Jonny nodded. "Is it okay if I turn on the TV?"

"Sure."

Benton stood up and turned to Patricia, gesturing for her to precede him into the sitting room. When they were in there, and Jonny had the television on, he crossed his arms and said, "So, Patricia, what did you mean, 'what was he thinking'?"

She looked distinctly uncomfortably, which suited Benton just fine. "That's too much," she said in a shaky voice.

"Too much as compared to what?" Benton asked in a quiet voice. She winced. "Should he only have hit him once instead of twice?"

"They're not really supposed to hit them like that at all," she said. "Not unless the parents really aren't cooperating at all."

"I was cooperating," Benton said in a flat tone.

"But then why was he hurting Jonny?"

"I didn't immediately answer a question he asked me." Benton found suddenly that he was quivering with rage. "He sent for Jonny, and insisted that he had to deliver punishment. If I hesitate for even a second, he gets angry. If I ask a question or ask for clarification, he gets angry. If Jonny says anything. . ." He stopped, shaking his head.

"I know Marcus can be a bit rough, but he doesn't –"

"You think Marcus did that to Jonny?" Benton asked. "Marcus held on to him, but Crandall's the one who hit him."

"But the suits aren't supposed to do that," she exclaimed, her eyes wide. "You're supposed to get to a point where you don't mind having them around as long as they don't bring the guards."

"Well, I don't think Crandall's following your handbook."

"I've got to tell Dr. Pascale. This is just wrong."

"All of it is wrong, Patricia!" Benton exclaimed. "It is never all right to kidnap a child. It is never all right to hit a child! Your priorities are utterly insane!" Benton stopped abruptly as he saw Jonny appear in the door way.

"I heard yelling," he said worriedly. "Did Crandall come back?"

"No, Jonny."

"Then who was yelling?"

Benton sighed. "I was."

"At Patricia?"

"I'm sorry, Jonny, I just got a little emotional."

"Oh, it's okay, I yell at her, too. She's deluded." He looked thoughtful. "I don't think she's an evil minion, just a deluded minion."

"Yes, I'd say she's deluded," Benton agreed.

"I'm not deluded!" Patricia exclaimed. "And I'm not evil." She turned to Jonny. "I would never hurt you."

Benton walked over to Jonny, throwing a glare over his shoulder at Patricia. "It's okay, Jonny. I want to talk to Patricia a little longer."

"Okay. Are you going to undelude her?"

"I'm working on it."

"Can I have Bandit?"

Benton raised his eyebrows. He'd almost forgotten about the dog. He turned to Patricia. "Do you think you could go and get Jonny's dog?"

"I can try," she said. "If he tries to bite me, though. . ."

"I understand."

She left without a backward glance, and Benton wondered if she'd even come back. He went in and sat with Jonny, who was watching I Love Lucy. His son looked up as he joined him. "It's cool that there aren't any commercials, but the programming is bizarre."

"What's bizarre about I Love Lucy?" Benton asked.

"No! Here, look. This is the program guide." He flipped to the channel and Benton obediently looked. Jonny was right, it was bizarre. All of the shows were either documentaries or the sweetness and light sitcoms that were so prevalent in the fifties and sixties. Or movies with similar themes.

"That is odd. They must have their own system."

"Yeah, the SCN," Jonny said. "The Stepford Cable Network."

Benton laughed. "Very observant, Jonny."

"Yeah, this really reminds me of a movie I saw a while back, um. . . Pleasantville. Maybe everything should be in black and white." Jonny was silent for a moment while they watched Lucy stuff chocolate into her mouth. "My face hurts."

"You want some –" Benton reached out and grabbed the pill bottle. "Some naproxen? It's an anti-inflammatory."

Jonny shrugged and took the pill Benton handed him. A few minutes later, the door opened again and Bandit came bounding out of Patricia's arms and bounced over to the bed.

"Bandit!" Jonny cried as the little dog jumped up onto the bed. He started licking Jonny's face, but Jonny pushed him away. "Not right now, boy," he said, scratching his ears. "That hurts."

Benton stood up and took Patricia back into the sitting room. "No trouble, I take it."

"That dog is eerily smart. I told him I was taking him to Jonny, and he was good as gold."

"He's been in these sorts of situations before, too," Benton said dryly. "Patricia, do you really think this life you live is normal? People being kidnapped, their children being harmed to persuade them to cooperate?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I know it's not how everybody lives. But if you lived with us and worked for the corporation, you wouldn't be kidnapped anymore. The corporation has excellent security."

"But no freedom."

"I'm free to do what I want."

"Can you go visit your mother in Florida?"

"She comes to see me."

Benton shook his head. "There are all sorts of ways to limit freedom, Patricia. One of them is by restricting choices. If you don't know something is possible, you don't know you aren't allowed to do it." She knit her eyebrows in a puzzled manner. "For instance, television shows. The ones available here are quite limited."

"There are more at some of the other facilities. A couple of channels for kids, a few more movie channels."

"Have you ever heard of The Sixth Sense or Harry Potter?"

"Who is Harry Potter?" she asked. "And isn't the sixth sense supposed to be telepathy?"

"The Sixth Sense is a movie that was huge a few years back. The kind of thing that even people who never saw it heard about," he said. "And Harry Potter the main character of a book series that is an enormous phenomenon, about a secret society of wizards who live apart from the rest of the world. Sounds a bit familiar, doesn't it?" he said wryly.

"What do you mean?"

Benton closed his eyes and shook his head. "Never mind, Patricia. Suffice it to say that the way you people live is wrong. Abduction isn't a recruitment technique, it's a crime. And what Crandall's doing to Jonny is called assault and battery. It's a felony, they're both felonies."

"Not here."

"Where is here?" Benton demanded.

"This is Base 12," she said. "It's part of the corporation."

"Yes, but what country is it in?"

"We're autonomous, and our bases are all over the world." Benton felt a chill. Where the hell are we? he wondered. Base 12? Out of how many?

"Well, regardless, the kidnapping took place in Maine, and there it's a felony."

"But the corporation is autonomous. The laws of nations don't apply to us."

"Like hell they don't. There are international laws, and kidnapping is one of them. It's recognized by all countries."

"You don't understand. We're outside that sort of thing."

"There's no such thing, Patricia. If any of your colleagues were caught by the government, they would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and any nation would do the same thing. Jonny's right, you are a deluded minion."

"I am not a minion."

"You work for the villain."

"I work for the corporation."

"Any corporation that details in its handbook how to kidnap children and beat them is villainous, Patricia. I have to get back to my son." He turned away, but just as he reached the door to the bedroom, he turned back. "You really should give some thought to just how your sister died. Was she sick before your parents were recruited by the corporation?"

He turned and left her gaping like a fish. He settled down on the bed with his son and pulled him into his arms. Bandit shifted so that he was leaning against both of them and wagged his tail. Jonny looked at him over his shoulder. "Did you undelude her?"

"I certainly tried."

"Good."

Two days at least they'd been here. He wasn't sure how long he was out when they sedated him, and he hadn't seen the sun yet, but he was sure they'd been gone for at least two days.

One way or another, they had to get away from these lunatics. Quite apart from everything else, Hadji would be worried, and if he knew his elder son, he would be on his way to try and find them before long, no matter what Race tried to do to stop him.