Chapter 4
It was late in the afternoon when Jason and Sonny pulled up to Clay's house. The rest of the guys were told to go home and get cleaned up. Ray had to tell Niama and his kids about Uncle Clay coming back to life. Brock had to go home and get all of Cerb's things so he could live with Clay full time. Jason had told Sonny to go home as well, but he didn't want to be apart from Clay. He wanted to make sure Clay got settled ok before he would go home later to get cleaned up and try and get some sleep. Jason knew it was pointless to try and get Sonny to change his mind. It had taken him long enough to convince Yoder to go home and tell Ali that Clay was alive. Jason parked his truck and he turned to look at Clay. He was sound asleep with Cerb curled up against him. Clay was laying down to make it easier on his sore body. It was good that Clay was sleeping, his body was in desperate need of it. Jason knew he would need to try and get Clay to eat something shortly though.
"Alright, I got him, you get the door." Jason said, as he handed his keys over to Sonny.
Sonny gave a nod and they both got out. Sonny made his way over to the front door to unlock it while Jason turned his attention to Clay. He opened the back door and Cerb was the only one that even noticed.
"Cerb, out." Jason ordered.
Cerb looked over at Clay before he reluctantly got out of the truck. Jason knew that Cerb didn't want to leave Clay, but he also knew that he was in the way for Jason to be able to get Clay out of his truck so he could get him inside. After the past week of having to wake Clay up, Jason had learnt the easiest way to do it so that it didn't cause Clay to be scared was to run his hand through what little hair he had. Jason placed his hand on Clay's head and started to rub it as he spoke.
"Sunshine, it's time to wake up."
It only took a moment before Clay was taking a deep breath in and opening his eyes. Jason could see the exhaustion still within his eyes and he hated that he couldn't take that away or make him better. Jason hated feeling useless and with Clay right now that's all he was feeling.
"It's ok Sunshine, we're home. I'm gonna get you inside and then you can sleep as long as you want."
"Cerb?" Clay asked softly.
"He's right here just outside of the truck waiting for you. I'm going to pick you up ok?"
Clay gave a small nod and Jason picked up his oxygen tank before he gently picked up Clay. The small scream was expected, but Jason hated hearing it all the same. He hated knowing that even just picking up his son he was causing him pain. He very carefully got him out of the truck and over to the house. Jason instantly brought Clay over to the couch where there were a couple of pillows and a blanket already there for Clay. Jason also noticed the smell of cleaning supplies. Alpha and Charlie had done a great job of making sure the whole place was clean and sanitized so they didn't have to worry about Clay getting sick. They even had some hand sanitizers on the kitchen counter for everyone to use. Jason brought Clay into the bathroom first though because they had been on a plane for a good twenty hours and he had yet to pee. They went through the process of getting Clay's sweats down and getting him to sit on the toilet so he could go. Jason noticed the shower chair in the bathtub so once Clay was in a bit of a better shape he would be able to handle showering by himself. Once Clay had finished peeing, Jason helped him to get redressed and his hands washed before he took him back out into the living room.
He got Clay placed down onto the couch and covered up before Cerb had jumped up and curled up against Clay's chest. Jason helped Clay to move his arm so it was over Cerb before he checked his oxygen and made sure the line wasn't crinked.
"Is there anything you want or need son? I can open the blinds or the doors for some fresh air or for the waves?"
"ተፈቒዱሉ ድዩ ?" (Allowed?)
"Of course you're allowed. Would you like them open?"
Clay gave a small nod and Sonny went over to the french doors and opened them, allowing sunlight and the sounds of the ocean to come into the house. Jason sat down on the chaise part and he placed his hand on Clay's head and ran his thumb back and forth as Clay's eyes closed. Jason knew his body was exhausted and the more sleep Clay got the better off he was going to be. He would try and get him to eat some soup in a little while. They both sat there and watched as Clay quickly fell back asleep. The sound of his wheezing was the only thing heard within the room along with the crashing of the waves. Sonny hated this. He hated that he couldn't make his kid brother better. That he couldn't make his best friend better. What he hated the most though, was that he had been living his life while his best friend was being raped and tortured. He was out there partying and having a great time, while his best friend was suffering.
Sonny knew he didn't know the truth. He knew he didn't know that Clay wasn't actually dead, that someone within the Upper Brass had decided to hurt Clay like this. He didn't know the truth and he knew logically he couldn't hold himself accountable for not knowing, but that didn't change the great deal of guilt that was eating away at him. He knew everyone else would be feeling the same and that it wasn't any of their faults, but that didn't change the fact that he knew they would all be blaming themselves for this anyways. Jason's phone beeped, signally a text message and he pulled it out.
"Fuck." He softly said.
"What is it?"
"Command needs me to come in to fill out paperwork for my leave. Lindell also needs to speak with me about my plan for Clay's safety."
"Ok, you go. I'll be here and the guys will be back over shortly. Now is the best time for you to go. He's asleep and he just took a leak. Now's the best time for you to go man."
Jason let out a sigh. The very last thing he wanted to do was leave Clay, but he also knew he had to get this paperwork filled out and filed so he could focus all of his efforts on getting Clay healthy and keeping him safe. He also had to keep Lindell updated. Lindell had been kept in the dark as they went with Admiral Anderson to get what they needed. It wasn't about not trusting Lindell, but rather giving him plausible deniability should something go south. Admiral Anderson had informed Lindell of what Jason and the guys knew once Clay had been brought to the hospital. Lindell was rightfully pissed, but he also understood why they had kept him in the dark. Jason knew this conversation had been coming though and it would be better to get it over and done with.
"Ya, alright. I shouldn't be long, just let him sleep." Jason said, as he reluctantly got up.
"I got him, I promise."
"I know Brother." Jason said, as he placed his hand on Sonny's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze before he headed out. He didn't want to leave, but this was something that needed to be done. Jason sent a text back letting Blackburn know he was on the way as he got into his truck and headed out.
XXX
Jason headed into Lindell's open office and he saw that he was there with Admiral Anderson and Blackburn. He could tell that none of them were happy, but he couldn't blame them. He was pissed too, but right now he couldn't allow himself to be pissed off. He had to focus on taking care of Clay and making sure he had what he needed. It's why his phone, Yoder's and Trent's phones all had a calendar for Clay's appointments and medication and it was all connected to each other so they could mark when his medication was given to him so everyone knew it was done. They had a plan, they all knew what it was and everyone was going to make sure it was handled. As for the human trafficking ring and who had done this to Clay, that was going to be handled by Blackburn, Mandy and Davis right now until they had something actionable.
"Hayes, I appreciate you coming in. I know you would rather be home right now." Lindell started, as Jason closed the door.
"I know this conversation needs to happen." Jason said.
"As you know we have updated Lindell on the situation. Blackburn was informing us on the human trafficking ring and what the Ranger unit was able to gather. So far no new information has come up, but we have a whole unit of techs working on it to generate actionable intel." Admiral Anderson said.
"Once we have something we will send a team out to capture everyone they can. I know you would like to have Bravo out there doing so, but we need Bravo here to keep Clay safe. When we have actionable intel, you will be allowed to pick the team that goes out for the mission." Lindell offered.
"I appreciate that. And where are we on the other situation?" Jason asked.
"I am going to be speaking with Mandy and Davis to bring Davis up to speed on that situation. We need the added help with locating evidence that will point us in a direction. We all also agree that you need to inform Bravo of the potential threat of Vic." Blackburn said.
"I know. I'll do that today. I would like permission to have an internal undercover op." Jason started.
"What are you thinking?" Admiral Anderson asked.
"Vic and Ray are very close. I would like for Ray to be on Vic's side. If we confront Vic about Clay's suspicion of him being there for his rape stateside. Have Ray play it off like Clay was only trying to hurt Vic, have Vic thinking that Ray is on his side. He might let something slip that we can use."
"You want Ray to be a double agent, I don't know Jase. We still don't know if Ray will believe that Vic had anything to do with any of what Clay has speculated. He might not be willing to play ball." Blackburn said unsure if Ray would be willing to do this or believe them. He had seen Ray and Vic getting very close over the past six months. There were essentially best friends, Vic had replaced Jason in a sense. There was nothing that would lead Blackburn to think that Clay was right.
"Ray doesn't have to believe it. He could do it to prove that it wasn't Vic, to help clear his name. We just need Ray to play ball whether he believes us or not. I truly believe that Vic will shoot himself in the foot if he feels comfortable enough." Jason countered.
"Alright, I'll approve it if you can get Perry to agree. However, if he does agree, he has to have a wire with him. We will need solid evidence if we want to be able to prosecute." Admiral Anderson said.
"Deal." Jason easily said. He would get Ray to do this, one way or another.
"We are also looking to see if we can find the one that did rape Clay in the video. If we can find him, we might be able to get him to flip on Vic. We also have the analysis watching the social media platform to see if someone posts about Clay. The page has been down for six months now, but once the word gets out that Clay is alive, it could start again. The techs are ready for when it goes live, if it goes live." Lindell said.
"And there is no one that was commenting on the page that has talked?" Jason asked.
"No, everyone is still keeping quiet. We have the bugs on everyone's phone and with Clay now back alive, Vic and Ash might start talking. We will also monitor their gps in their vehicles to see if they meet in person. We need something actionable on White, Ash and Vic. Both Ash and Vic will flip on White, they won't want to spend time in prison." Lindell answered.
"No deals. We haven't spoken to Clay about it, but everyone on the team is in agreement. We don't offer any deals. They all get prison time in some third world country and Clay will agree. My son spent six months in a hole being raped and tortured, he had less than a month of life left in him. The last thing any of them deserve is a clean break from this. We don't care if it takes us longer to get everyone involved, we don't give a deal." Jason said with strength to his voice.
"That's fine. If that is what Clay wishes, then I will respect that. We will get everyone involved and the three of them will be held within a CIA blacksite before being transferred to a maximum security prison overseas somewhere." Admiral Anderson agreed.
"And Clay hasn't said anything about it yet?" Lindell asked.
"No, but we haven't asked. As a team we agreed that it would be better to not talk about it until a Shrink has been able to speak with him. We don't want to say the wrong thing and trigger him or make him worse. He's also not speaking English yet. He's been conditioned and he's still following the rules. He still refers to himself as a pet and he keeps saying his master will find him. His mind is too fragile to start asking the hard questions." Jason explained.
"Jesus fuck." Lindell said, pissed that this was happening to one of his best guys. Clay had a future ahead of him. He had the potential to be great and now he was on the verge of being medically discharged.
"Reports came in from the additional victims that were rescued. Most of them were there for the same time that Clay was or longer, so they are not talking. However, there is one man that had been there for a month and he was able to release more intel to us about how the organization treated them. He didn't know anything about the organization, he had been kidnapped from his home by the Rebels in Africa and he woke up in the cell." Blackburn started.
"The Rebels most likely have been using the trafficking ring to supply them with funding." Admiral Anderson stated.
"Most likely. The victim said he was treated like a dog. He was not allowed to speak English, if he was he was tortured. If he couldn't speak the language, you were to keep your mouth shut. He stated that the captive on the other side of the wall would whisper to him to teach him how to pronounce certain words to get him by. Clay must have had someone do the same to him and with his IQ, he must have been able to learn the language through the wall. The victim said you couldn't be on the mattress unless you were servicing a client or your master. You were fed and given water out of dirty dog bowls and you had to lick it, you weren't allowed to use your hands, if you did you were whipped or had your hands beaten. When your Master came into the room you were on your knees with your head bowed. And most importantly, you put on a good show for your client. You were to moan and beg for more, to act like a prostitute so the client would want to come back. He said you would be tortured and raped repeatedly, but if you begged your Master to pleasure him, he would stop hurting you and you would be given food and water." Blackburn finished.
"They are conditioning them. You do as you are told and expected without fighting and you don't get hurt. At some point Clay must have given in and played his part. He needed to buy time until he was found." Lindell said.
"We were never designed to find him. We never would have looked for a human trafficking ring on the other side of the world. As time ticked on Clay would have given in so he could survive long enough to be found. He probably doesn't even know how long it's been." Jason said, pissed that he didn't find his son in time. That he couldn't have found him sooner.
"What matters is that you have him now. That he was found. He has a long road to go before he is even healthy, but you have all the time you need to spend it with him. I have already started to reach out to politicians that were friends with Clay. They are going to do what they can to get him on a list at a few hospitals for double lungs. They will even make the monetary donations for it. We should be able to get him a set of lungs in roughly three months. You and your team need to make sure that he is able to handle the surgery." Lindell said.
"We'll get him there. What about the paperwork to bring him back to life?" Jason asked.
"That is what we need your help with today. Clay isn't able to sign them so you will need to in his place, it's a lot of paperwork you might want to sit down. I know it's tedious, but we need to get it filed so he is fully covered for insurance. He will also receive back pay for the past six months and he will continue to receive his normal pay even with him on medical leave. Admiral Anderson has already gotten it approved; we just need the paperwork to submit it. Once it has been official, you will be given a copy and you can use that to get everything else back in Clay's name." Lindell explained.
Jason gave a nod and took a seat. He had managed to keep most things in Clay's name. The only thing that wasn't was his truck, which was in Emma's name now. Jason knew when Clay came back he wouldn't care about the truck and Emma needed a vehicle so it worked temporarily. He also knew that Ray hadn't signed the trust forms so all of Clay's book profits were still coming to him. Thankfully, they wouldn't have that legal nightmare. Jason just needed to get this paperwork done so everything would be set for Clay and he could focus on getting him healthy and better.
XXX
Vic made his way into Clay's house roughly a couple of hours after they had landed. He had no idea who would be here outside of Jason, but he was fine with it. He had to make sure he played the part. He had to make sure everyone knew that he cared about Clay and wanted to find the people responsible for this tragedy. He had used his burner phone in his bathroom with the shower going to call Ash and inform him of the situation. Ash was not happy, but they also knew it was only a matter of time before Clay was found. They had all been hoping he would be dead when he was found, but he was as close to death as possible. Chances were he would die before he even had the chance to get his new set of lungs. Or he would die on the operation table.
Ash, Vic and White weren't worried about any of this coming back on them. They already had a scapegoat in Smith. Everything would connect right back to him and they would kill him before he ever had the chance to speak up. What pissed Vic off was knowing that he was going to have to deal with the team babying Clay. He was going to have to deal with them wanting to all be around Clay all the time, especially Sonny. There was no way Vic was going to be able to get Sonny to go out for drinks with him. He was going to have to come up with something that he could use to try and get some attention onto him. Vic was thinking if he could make it seem like the threat had been moved over to him, then the guys would have to focus on his active threat versus Clay.
Vic walked into the house and saw that Clay was asleep on the couch with Cerb curled up next to him. He didn't see anyone else around and for a moment he thought about going over there and killing Clay. It would be simple enough to put a pillow over his face and smother him to death. He didn't have the strength to fight back and everyone would just figure his lungs gave out on him. Jason's truck wasn't in the driveway so Vic figured he had to run into the base for something. This would be the perfect time for him to eliminate Clay and finally be free from him. Vic made his way over to Clay, but Cerb barked and started to snarl at him. The sudden nose had woken Clay up and Vic could instantly see the fear within Clay's eyes. It made him feel good to know that Clay was scared of him. To know that he had turned Bravo's precious golden boy into this weak and pathetic excuse of a man. Someone so weak that he couldn't even take a piss without someone there to help him. Vic was proud that he had a hand in destroying Clay and he really couldn't wait until they finished the job.
"Attaque." Clay softly said and the smirk on Vic's face quickly disappeared.
Cerb snarled and snapped at Vic as he stood up. Vic was instantly moving back and Cerb got off the couch and started to go for Vic. Vic grabbed one of the dining room chairs to use it as a way to keep Cerb away from him.
"Arrête." Vic said, trying to get Cerb to stop but he wasn't listening to him. Cerb dove for Vic, but he was able to use the chair to keep Cerb back.
"What the hell is going on?" Sonny demanded as he came back out from the bathroom.
He could hear Cerb snarling and heard Vic telling him to stop, but he didn't expect to see Cerb trying to kill Vic. Over the past six months Cerb had been different, ever since Clay's death or capture now. The guys all knew that Cerb was having a very hard time with having Clay gone and it seemed like his aggression had turned to Vic. But Cerb had never tried to kill Vic before and that was exactly what he was trying to do. Cerb was going for the kill and not just a warning.
"Attaque." Clay said again and Sonny understood why Cerb was trying to kill Vic, Clay was ordering it.
"Clay, you need to stop, order him back." Sonny said, as he went and put himself between Vic and Cerb.
That was the wrong thing to do though, because to Cerb that meant Sonny was betraying Clay and he was instantly jumping towards him. Sonny had just enough time to put his right arm up to keep Cerb from going for his throat. Sonny groaned loudly as Cerb's sharp teeth sunk into his skin. He didn't expect for Cerb to actually attack him, but Cerb wasn't playing around. He was going to be getting to Vic and he had no problem taking anyone out that was in his way.
"I'll shoot him." Vic said.
"No, you are not shooting this dog." Sonny instantly said.
There was no way in hell Sonny was going to allow anyone to hurt Cerb. He didn't care how badly his arm was torn up, Clay needed Cerb. Cerb had been the only person that had managed to keep Clay calm this whole time. He needed him and he was not going to hurt Clay by having Cerb in the hospital getting a bullet removed. The front door opened and the guys all walked in to see the scene playing out in front of him.
"What the fuck is going on?" Jason demanded.
"Cerb, arrête. Libération." Brock snapped in a tone that he always used when giving Cerb orders, but this time around Cerb didn't listen.
"You gotta get Clay to say the words, he won't listen to anyone else." Sonny said, with a groan as Cerb's teeth dug in more.
Brock and Ray went over to Sonny and Cerb to try and get Cerb off of Sonny, while Trent ran out for his medical kit that was in his truck. Jason and Yoder went over to Clay, Jason bending down in front of him as he spoke.
"You gotta tell Cerb to stop Sunshine. He's hurting Sonny. We're all here, I'm here, you gotta get him to stop."
"Arrête." Clay said after a moment of hesitation and both Jason and Yoder knew it was because Vic was still here.
The second the word left Clay's mouth Cerb was releasing Sonny and went back over to Clay, sitting down in front of him with a snarl still playing across his mouth. Jason got up and went over to the others while Yoder stayed with Clay and sat on the edge of the couch, placing his hand on Clay's back to try and keep him calm.
"It's ok, Firecracker. I got you."
"What the hell was that?" Jason demanded.
"I don't know. I came over to check in and see if you needed me to do anything to help and Clay sicked Cerb on me." Vic explained.
"I came out of the bathroom to see Vic trying to use a chair to keep Cerb back. I got in between them and he attacked me. I tried to get him to stop, but he wouldn't listen." Sonny added.
"I'm sorry, he must have been startled awake and thought you were an attacker." Jason said to Vic, but he suspected that Clay did in fact remember that Vic had helped his rapist to rape him. He might have bruising on his brain, but his mind worked. His memory was intact.
"It's fine, I understand." Vic said with a dmissive shake of his head.
"This needs a lot of stitches." Trent said, as he examined Sonny's arm.
It was covered in blood and everyone could see that the bites were deep and they were going to scar. Brock instantly felt terrible. He had no idea that Cerb would do something like this. He never expected for him to attack any of them, regardless of who had given the order.
"Sorry, I'm so sorry. He knows better than this. I didn't think he would ever do something like this." Brock said with deep remorse to his voice.
"It's not your fault. It's not Cerb's or Clay's fault. The only one to blame for all of this are the assholes that did this to him. You ain't got nothing to be sorry for." Sonny said.
"He's still snarling." Full Metal commented, as he kept his eyes on Cerb.
"Vic, I think right now it might be best if you left. Give Cerb some time to calm down." Jason suggested.
"He shouldn't have to leave though. This is his brother's house, he shouldn't have to leave because Cerb is going through shit." Ray countered.
"It's ok. Cerb's been through a lot with Clay's fake death and now he's back. He's just being cautious. It's all good. I'll head back to the base and see if Davis or Mandy need any help with tracking down this human trafficking ring." Vic said. He was all too happy to get out of here.
"If you're sure Brother." Ray said with a warm smile.
"Ya, it's all good. I'll keep you guys posted if something comes up." Vic said with a warm smile. "Thanks Sonny for stepping in."
"Anytime Brother."
Vic headed out and the guys all watched as Trent stitched up Sonny's arm. It was going to be a mess and they all felt bad for him. Jason didn't think Cerb would attack any of them. He knew there was a chance that he could attack Vic, but he didn't think he would attack one of the guys even for stepping between them. Cerb must have felt like Sonny was betraying Clay by stopping him from getting to Vic. Jason looked over at Full Metal and Yoder and without saying a single word they all knew what needed to happen. It was time they told the others what they knew. Jason had been hoping he could give them a couple more days to adjust to having Clay back and for him to figure out how he was going to tell them. Now they didn't have a choice. Once Sonny's arm was all stitched up Jason spoke.
"Yoder, stay with Clay. Everyone else, I need to speak with you outside."
The others all gave a nod and they made their way out into the backyard. Jason brought them further away from the house so Clay would hopefully not hear this conversation. Thankfully his hearing was terrible so there was a good chance he wouldn't hear anything anyways. He could see that all of the guys were curious about what he had to say. Jason had no idea how they were going to handle this news, but there was nothing he could do now. He had to tell them and just hope that his brothers would understand why he had kept this from them. Jason took a deep breath before he spoke.
"I've been keeping a secret from all of you about Clay. I knew he wasn't dead."
And just like that, Jason could see the shock take hold of his brothers' faces.
