Chapter
Out of the Pot
After Danny had breathed new life back into Joe it depleted everything he had in him. For a moment Danny really considered that perhaps God hadn't spared him after all. With Joe in the arms of his brother, his family gathered close, the family was complete once again. At that he stood to excuse himself from the group, that which he did not belong. Excuse himself from the world, that which he did not belong. The group watched him hobble towards the door. He wanted to make it out before he left this world. Unfortunately he'd only made it halfway there before his vision swam and knees buckled beneath him.
Morgan bolted to him to try to catch him before he fell. Though too late, he was right there by his side. Hoss made it to his other side. The kid was soaking wet and hot to the touch.
"He's burning up." Clancy spoke out.
"Let's get them both to the wagon." Ben took charge once again.
"What happened?" Dr. Lee asked as Danny was carried in for the second time that night to the home. We gave him the medicine, but he fought the affects.
"About half." Hank said.
"He wanted to stay awake until we found Joe." Morgan explained. "When we did find Joe, he collapsed." Dr. Lee doubted his own judgment in letting this kid go, but bringing Joe's weak and limping form escorted by his brothers in after gave Lee peace of mind that good came out of it. "He's been out since then. About twenty minutes or so."
"He will be out for a few hours at least."
"He's soaking wet though and burning up."
"Get him to table." They laid Danny down. Lee lifted his shirt. The skin around the bandage was fiery hot. He peeled it back. The cut was blackening in some areas and had developed a stench. "Hmm, it's what I feared. Infection."
"It wasn't infected before. Why would it be now after you cleaned it?"
"Did you give him something that made him sick?"
"No. It was taking him out like we did." Hank averred. "I knew it was too risky."
"No." Dr. Lee refuted. "I suspected it might get this bad. I was hoping to fight it with salve and antibiotics, but I was too late."
"What do you mean too late?" Sam asked. "He wasn't sick when we brought him to you."
"Yes he was. The infection was already in his blood, but it hadn't hit his brain yet. I was hoping we would be able to catch it in time, but that didn't happen. It has gone to his brain now. That is why we now see affects. His body is fighting it. This is why he has fever."
"What can we do?"
"Wet cloth. Must get body cool."
In the early morning hours as the sun was turning the sky, half the hands were working on laying wet cloths over Danny's feverish body. The other half busied themselves by emptying and cleaning the tub they had used for Danny hours prior, of the water that had been soiled with blood and excrement, only to refill it once more for Joe. When this had been done, Dr. Lee took Joe to the bath to give him the same treatment as he had Danny hours prior. This time it was Ben who assisted the doc.
Danny was back on the bed in the living quarters while Joe was in the back room downstairs. The doc was just as methodical noting, cleaning and dressing every wound. It pained the pater to see how his boy had suffered. Though he knew Danny was worse by a long shot it still hurt to know his son was in that place and all they had done to him. Joe's wrist had also been chaffed though not as deep set. They were still a reflection of how his son had been bound. His face and torso bruised reflecting the multiple blows he'd sustained. God how his heart hurt for his boy. This was where the similarities between his injuries and Danny's had ended though.
The most worrisome thing about Joe's injuries had been his head. Having started out milking a concussion, only to endure multiple blows to the face and head at the hands of these men, his concussion hadn't had the time it needed to heal. Instead it swelled putting pressure on his brain, causing him to be dizzy and disorientated, fighting to keep what little food they gave him inside. After his exam, his pa helped him into some night linen which belonged to Lee. They took Joe up the stairs to the only other guest room and laid the boy down in the soft covers. A few minutes after Dr. Lee had injected something into Joe's arm, the boy was fast asleep.
Upon cleaning the bath again they brought Danny into the guest room that laid just off of the living quarters downstairs. Tired and exhausted the men laid out their bedrolls among the floor in the living room. It was finally time for them to rest. They slept in waves. Clancy taking first watch over Danny and Ben over Joe. After a few hours rest Adam and Hoss took up shift over their brother to allow their father the much needed sleep. It was Sam who relieved Clancy. Like this they always had someone in with both boys while the others rested. Both boy's remained miles away.
~.~
It was late morning, early afternoon when the house began to stir. The morning sun illuminated through the windows brightening up the house. Hopsing with the courtesy of Dr. Lee's kitchen had ensured the men would wake up to coffee and breakfast. Adam insisted Hoss eat first and they would trade off when he was done. Ben slept through until mid-afternoon. The darkness of sleep had mostly drifted and although his body still felt heavy, filling the pull of responsibility, he forced himself to get up.
"Hey Pa." Hoss greeted as he sauntered to the kitchen.
"How're the boys?"
"They're both still out. Adam is still up with Joe. Hanks with Danny." Ben threw back some coffee and got a few bites down before he languorously made his way to the door and slipped on his gun belt. "You going somewhere Pa?" Hoss could see his father was worse for wear and knew he could do with a few more hours of sleep.
"The city police. I'm sure they're going to be in a bad way and wanting for answers."
"Would you like me to go?" He volunteered.
"No. You stay with your brother. Keep him safe while I'm gone."
~.~
"You guys caused quite a stir." McFadden stated as they sat within the confines of the corner office. It was late afternoon by the time Ben had arrived and recounted his story and all that he and his men had done and why.
"I'm sorry. We didn't know what else to do."
"Don't be sorry. A little extra work never hurt anyone. It was worth it for the men you saved. It's just a drop in the bucket but thanks to what you guys did a few more men are going home to their families. I'm glad you got your boys back. How are they doing?"
"They're both battling fever. Danny is considerably worse off. So far we've been able to keep Joe's fever down. They're both out though. At least they were when I left."
"Listen Mr. Cartwright. The boy's you delivered to me last night have been incredibly forthcoming. With the information they've provided we were able to take Shinmoto into custody and through Shinmoto we got the captain of the Sun Beauty Jin Katsuchi."
"How about with these other men? The ones who kidnapped the boys?"
"We've identified the body, that of Barnes Towler. The patient at St. Mary's has been identified as Jack Doten. The two had spent time together at Arizona State Prison. We were able to track down the livery in which they stabled their horses. It was pretty nearby to where they held your boys. They stabled them under the name of Vivian DeMatteis. The stable owner was able to give us a pretty good description of both he and the horses they had stabled there. We caught him just about 11 miles outside the city. We have him in custody now."
"That's good news. That's good to hear. I can see you and your men have been very busy since we last met."
"You and me both." He said with a chortle then said with a genuine smile. "It's good to get some wins sometimes."
"How about the last one?"
"Well, we didn't even know there was a last one until you just mentioned him. I can go back and ask this Vivian Feller about this one, but so far he hasn't said much."
"What about the one at St. Mary's?"
"He lost a lot of blood by the time he got to us. We took him directly to the hospital and they took him directly into surgery. They said it was going to be a while before we'd be able to have any real conversation with him. What we could do in the meantime is we can send a recovery team out to find the body you say is on the trail. If we could figure out who that kid is it could help us track down the one that's missing. That could take some time though and right now, time is of the essence. Like I said we caught Vivian outside the city and that was this morning. Every moment wasted is a moment further away this other one could be getting. If too much time passes we may never find him again. With that being said, I would like to talk with your boys Ben. The ones who were taken. I believe our best information is going to come from them."
"I'm not sure how up they would be for talking. Like I said they were both still asleep when I left the house."
"I'll tell you what. I'll make these other two stops first. See what I could get from them. I can swing by and talk to your boys after. God willing they would improve by then." Ben agreed with a nod.
"Listen Mr. Cartwright. He's not your only concern." Ben looked up a spell. "The men you took the first boy from. The Tong. They're a very powerful organization around these parts. They're not going to be too happy about last night's exploits. Now we have the boys you delivered to us in protective custody but you Mr. Cartwright and your men aren't protected.
"Nobody knows who we are or where."
"Not yet, but they've got fingers that stretch all over the city. It won't take them very long to figure it out. Maybe it's time for you to leave the city. You could take Danny home. We can call you back if there's going to be any sort of trial."
"We can't do that. Danny is too weak to travel."
"How about Little Joe?"
"Exhausted. This whole experience took its toll."
"Can he travel?"
"Well I'm not sure. He might be up for it."
"I'd hate to say this Ben after what that boy's been through but maybe it's time to start thinking about protecting your own. Take your boy home. Leave the other. It's this other one they're really after. There's no reason why your family needs to be caught up in this." Ben couldn't believe those words would ever come out of a man like McFadden but then again McFadden is farely knew to this situation. He doesn't really know. Not like they did.
"No. That's not an option." Ben answered bruskly. "Not after what this kid had sacrificed." McFadden imbibed these words.
~.~
McFadden didn't show up that night. It was early morning when his presence was announced. "Someone's coming." Will who was watching the windows announced as McFadden made his way to the door. Ben goes to the window and looks out.
"Stand down. That's a friend." And goes for the door.
"Mr. Cartwright." He greets as Ben opens the door before he'd even had the chance to knock.
"I hope you didn't have any trouble finding the place."
"None at all."
"Please come in." He introduced the lawman to his curious hands and Dr. Lee who was standing in his kitchen's entryway.
"I apologize for not showing up last night. By the time I'd finished up with the other two it just got to be too late."
"I understand. How is the investigation coming? Did you get anything out of them?"
"In regards to Vivian DeMatteis so far he's keeping a pretty tight lip on whatever he knows which is ironic considering he left his men in the first place. He's likely still trying to protect his own skin."
"What do you mean?"
"We believe he was supposed to retrieve all the stock from the livery including the wagon in order to help his companions escape. However when we caught up with him he only had two horses with him. One to ride and one which he took the time to pack. His compadres were left in that building to fend off whoever would come looking for them alone. Which fortunately for your boy was you."
"Did you get all this from the other one?"
"No, we figured that out on our own. Unfortunately this other one will do even less talking. He's dead. Died a few hours after surgery in his sleep." Ben had some regret for the man his men had been forced to kill. Sam especially being behind the gun and understanding the struggles he had with taking a life. As he looked to him now it was difficult to gauge what he was feeling. Repentance or resolution. As for Ben he couldn't help but feel a sense of peace in his death. Not that he died but that he would no longer be a threat to his family. The fact that there was still another one out there that had yet to be caught hung over him though.
"How are the boys?"
"Little Joe's been very tired since we brought him home. But he's awake now. My other son Hoss is up there with him."
"How about Daniel?"
"Unfortunately he has yet to wake."
"May I see him?"
"Boy velly ill." Dr. Lee cautioned as he came forward. "Must treat with care."
"I'll be very careful." McFadden assured. Ben took the lawman into Danny's room so they could both see the extent of the boy's afflictions. Adam sat on one side, Clancy on the other as one ran wet cloths down his face while the other held his hand and talked with him. They both promptly stood and stretched out their palms as he entered.
"Assistant Chief. It's nice to see you again." Adam greeted with a handshake.
"How's the investigation coming?" Clancy asked.
"I was just telling your father here…"
"The one we shot is dead." Ben finished the sentence. "Died this morning."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. The worlds a better place." McFadden curtly responded. "Is this him?" He directed the attention to the patient in bed. They stood aside and let him walk forward. He stood over him now looking down. The boy was still. Face bruised and swollen; wet with rags but inflamed. His breathing had a rattle to it. "May I?" He asked referring to the boy's coverings. They nodded giving subtle permission. Pulling the blanket back McFadden stifled a gasp. Instead he stared down at the boy with an icy coolness as he took in the boy's detriment. His chest was wrapped with a clean white bandage but the dark colors that revealed themselves from everywhere else was ghastly. He released a mournful breath. "How about the other one?" He asked covering the boy back up.
"He's awake. Hoss is in with him now, trying to get some soup past him."
"Will you take me to him?"
"McFadden is here to talk to Joe about what he'd experienced. Would you like to come up Adam?"
"Well before we do that." McFadden stopped him. The boy might clam up if you were in the room. It's a pretty frightening thing what he went through. While some might feel comfort with the presence of family, others might feel overwhelmed."
"Well how about we just let Joe tell us what he wants." McFadden agreed to this. Adam looked to Clancy knowing that he would probably want to know as well what it was like with these men. All he and Daniel had experienced. If he had to he could get a hand to take over their post at Daniel's side. Though Clancy was dying to know he wasn't sure if now he was ready to hear them. Plus with the lawman's warning he'd figured his presence might be too much.
"No. You go. I'll stay with him." Adam smiled softly and followed his pa and the lawman up the stairs to Joe's room.
~.~
Hoss and Joe were bickering about how much soup is too much. The knock preceded the men. "Hey Joe. How are you feeling son?"
"Hoss here is trying to make me eat more than I can."
"You hardly ate anything." Hoss defended.
"I told you I wasn't much up for it."
"Still nauseous?" His pa asked.
"Yeah and if I eat anymore the whole things going to come back up. Then where will I be?"
"It's okay son." Ben placed a hand on Hoss's shoulder to excuse him. Hoss got up from the chair defeated and took the bowl to the back of the room. He would have gone back downstairs 'cept his curiosity kept him put.
"Son. This is Assistant Chief McFadden. Do you remember me telling you about him?" Joe agreed with a cautious nod. "He's a large part of why you're here today." He smiled softly, giving the lawman his appreciation. "He'd like to talk to you about your experience son. Would that be okay?" Joe looked around the room at his brothers feeling suddenly crowded, then lowered his eyes. "If you'd feel more comfortable talking with him alone." A long moment passed as he considered. He wasn't sure why having his brother's in there with him made him feel uncomfortable. They were his brother's he could talk with them about anything. He's never before had to talk about something so awful. So horrendous, so utterly atrocious. He guessed he just felt vulnerable. All he wanted to do was to forget these thoughts. Move them to the back of his mind and to never recall them again. He knew he couldn't. Not yet at least. He had to recall them at least once, to the lawman and maybe once more to his family. All at once or one at a time. Individually over and over again. They would want to know. If wouldn't be fare to them not to tell them. Was it better alone, one on one, again and again; or all at once? He didn't know. "Joe?" Ben queried.
"No Pa." Joe blurted. "It's okay that you guys stay." If he'd only ever have to talk about it one time, that'd be just fine by him. They were here now and although he did feel vulnerable to his brothers he also felt protected by them.
"Sure."
McFadden took the seat that Hoss had just vacated. His family took up different positions around the room. This would be the first hearing it from Joe's lips what all he had been through. A large part of them were dying to know, but even still with what they knew already they weren't entirely sure they were ready. Still they stayed. If for no other reason than for Joe.
"Your father told me about how these men came into your home hoping to ransom one of you and that you and Daniel were the first to enter the home." Joe lowered his eyes. "He also told me about how instead of walking out with you, they ended up walking out with that boy downstairs. About what he did for you."
"Did he tell you why?" It was important to Joe that McFadden knew he was unconscious and what happened couldn't be stopped.
"Yes. He told me." He looked to his pa who nodded in agreement. Joe accepted this. "It wasn't until a few days later that they ended up coming back for you. Is it okay if we start there?" It was just at that moment that what little soup he managed to get down started punching holes in his side wall. It probably had less to do with the soup and more to do with recalling the frightening moments. "What happened that night?" He remembers them like shadows looming over his bed.
"They were in my room." He closed his eyes to let the darkness come back. "I awoke to them standing over me. I went for my gun which was hung over the bedpost but they'd removed it while I was sleeping. My holster was empty. They had it. They had all the power. I had nothing. I was lying in my bed in my nightgown." He glowered, recalling his intense vulnerability. "There was nothing I could do to protect myself. They could have drug me away at that very moment if they'd wanted to and there'd be nothing I could do to stop them. They knew it too that they had all the power. But they didn't. Instead they started telling me, how it was my fault that Daniel was taken. Telling me, I was a coward for letting him go. I told them, it couldn't be helped because I didn't even know what was happening. I…" He let his voice trail off. Of course his family knew this. There was no point on saying it again. "They just said, that I could help him now."
"So you walked out with them?" McFadden presumed.
"No." Hoss and Adam were caught off guard. Harper said he did. Why would Joe lie about this? Is he lying? Did Harper lie? "Not yet. I knew that they were trying to get me to walk out with them and not put up a fight. I knew that's what they wanted but I told them, that wasn't going to happen. I told them, I would fight them every step of the way. For you guys, I would fight. They told me, that if I did Danny would pay. This scared me but I wasn't even sure if Danny was still alive.
"Joe." Adam broke in. "Harper said that you walked out with them. Did they use Danny as leverage?"
"They tried, but it didn't work." They were all curious at this admission.
"Oh it might have worked, if I thought that he might still be alive, but they gave me no proof of that. They told me I just had to trust them. I didn't." Joe ruminated on how close he came to abandoning the man who had saved his life. How close he came to letting him suffer and waste away until there was nothing left of him. He struggled with the sentience of it. The men all picked up on the battle he was having in his head. Joe was right to not go with them without proof. They all thought so. They could tell him every day, a thousand times a day that he'd made the right call. But the consolations would fall on deaf ears. Because of what had happened to Danny, Joe would never hear them.
"But if that wasn't what led you to go, than what was it?" Adam pressed. Joe looked up at his brother than let his eyes flutter over his pa and Hoss before they met his blankets again.
"They told me; if I didn't go with them, they'd kill me right there in my bed; then at the height of your grief, come back for one of you." The men glanced around at each other understanding now that it was for them that Joe, their youngest, most innocent and most vulnerable; had sacrificed himself for.
"Did they take you right to him?"
"I didn't see him again until that evening." Joe describes how he was tied and gagged at that point and led down into the camp.
"How was he when you first saw him?"
"When I first laid eyes on Danny he was tied and blindfolded." He described to the lawman at his side. "They kept him blindfolded whenever I was around. They wanted me to see Danny but didn't want Danny to see me. It wasn't until I got into the city that they allowed Danny to even know I was there."
"How did he look when you saw him?"
"The first time I saw him he already looked pretty bad. I could see that he'd been beaten. When they had me pinned against the tree, they told me that in the first 36 hours they'd had him, he'd been beaten twice. They also said." His mouth suddenly became dry. He gulped past the grit. "Neither one he deserved."
"Did you see them hurt Daniel?" The assistant chief probed.
"Everyday." Joe scrunched his features as he recalled. "From the very first night they brought me to him and every night after. I saw them hurt him, over and over again. Each night worse than the last. They made me watch." He said with an ill look. Joe described to them in detail the abuse Danny had suffered. The cuts, the burns, the beatings. Danny on his knees as Bogs drowned him with water than the beating that proceeded when he choked. It hurt his family to hear it. To understand what Danny went through. What hell their littlest brother had been through by being forced to watch. He described the manner in which they would truss him up. Arms strained behind him. The mental games they would play. Letting him feel the knife against his skin and drawing it down sinisterly. Thrusting the knife into the same wound time and again, then pressing their grubby fingers into it, causing Danny to flail about but going nowhere. It was clear to them now why this wound had appeared so bad. "With his arms like they were, he couldn't even fall to his knees." Joe explained. "When the pain would become too much, or he'd risk breaking his shoulders." He told through gritted teeth. "That night he pissed himself, then got beat for it." Hoss dropped his head mournful of the pain and terror that that boy had experienced. The destitution he must have felt at thinking he was going through this alone. "Through all this, they never broke any bones or caused any irreversible long-term damage. Other than when Bogs crushed Danny's hand but that was done outside of Chapman's presence. Chapman always stopped them before it got to that point. I used to think that it was because Chapman had a conscience but that wasn't it. Greed. That was it. He wanted to sell Danny and was trying to make the most he could for him." He told of what it was like after entering the city. How Daniel was punished because Joe took his ropes off. This information, when told to a jury, would be enough to put the men away for a long time. The room had fallen into repine. The gloom hung overhead.
"Thank you for telling me all this." McFadden finally said. "If you're willing to say this in a court of law than we can make sure these men go away for a long time." Court. Joe's stomach twisted again as he thought about having to recount his story among a whole group of strangers. If that's what he had to do to make sure they could never hurt him again than… he could deal with it when the time comes. Insignificant in comparison to what Danny had done for him. "How about Shinmoto? What can you tell me about him?" Testimony from the other boys they helped free should be enough, but McFadden asked about him anyways. The more compounded evidence he could gather the better off they'd be. Shinmoto's fate would be sealed. "Did you ever see him?"
"He was brought into the room by the others. I was holding Danny. They pulled me away from him though. Shinmoto asked about me. He asked the men if I too were for sale. They told him I was worth more than he could offer but they would go back to him if this other thing didn't work out. They talked about us like we were no more than produce." He said with the look of disgust. "He looked over Danny like he was examining peaches at a market. He did mention how Danny was hurt. I was hoping this would be enough to scrub the deal. They told him, that it was not much more than he'd get on the boat. Apparently Shinmoto agreed." Their hearts ached for their brother. This was his first experience with slavery and he was experiencing it first-hand. Their youngest brother was part creole. In a different life he might have been raised a slave. To them he was just their young, spoiled (at times), but innocent; baby brother. "They left the room to settle the money. We were left alone. That would be the last time I saw him. He was scared but also helpless. I could see he lost the hope that he'd ever be found. I told him to hang on. I told him you'd come for him." He looked to his pa and brothers. "I knew you would." He smiled wanly. "When they came back in for him, I tried to keep them from taking him." Though he didn't get into specifics, knowing their brother, they knew exactly how he tried. "I tried but they were too much for me. Danny stood in their way to keep them from hurting me. He told me I had to let him go. After everything he did for me already and everything they'd done to him because of it, he still gave himself up to protect me. Even with how hurt and scared he was and how much more he knew they could do to him, he still gave himself up to protect me. I couldn't stop them. I watched them take him away. It was one of the worst things I've ever experienced." He stared miles beneath the floor. He finished his recant with, "I never really found out what they thought Danny was worth."
"What happened after they took Danny away?"
"It wasn't too long after that they took me from the room. I was outside for the first time in a while. That was when I really got a sense for what time of day it was. The room they kept us in had no windows so I never really knew. I judged the time of day by the noises I heard downstairs."
"Where'd they take you?"
"They took me to my pa."
"On the bridge?" Joe confirmed with a nod. "Your pa told me about that. About the rope around your neck and how you looked. After you left your pa, did they take you back to the same building?" He nodded. "Back to the same room." He nodded. "What happened then?"
"Nothing. I was left alone, tied to the center beam. I tried to sleep but I had a hard time with that. It must have been hours later that Chapman and Bogs came in and pulled me from the room. I wasn't sure what was going on. They didn't say. Chapman only said that my father screwed up. He didn't tell me how. I was scared that they were going to kill me. As we were coming down the stairs Teddy told them that the building was surrounded. Chapman told Teddy and Bogs to go up and try to lead whoever it was they was running from up that way. He would take me down. I didn't know who was outside but I knew they were there to save me. I tried fighting and screaming through my gag. He took me into the basement. I fought him as hard as I knew how. The next thing I know, he lifted me off my feet and slammed me into the ground. I wasn't sure what just happened to me." Joe's breathing had picked up as he recalled. "I was dazed. The next thing I knew he was lying right next to me. He covered my mouth with his hand. I couldn't breathe. I fought. I tried to get away. I couldn't." He was in a panic. "Then there was nothing. I remember my family. I saw their faces they were all around me looking down at me. Then I was in the wagon. Danny was next to me. Somehow we made it back here."
"Thank you Joe, for talking with me. I know how difficult this must have been for you."
Ben walked the Assistant chief out. "That boys been through some ordeal. They both have." Ben sullenly agreed.
Adam went back into Daniel's room. The doc was in with him now. Clancy was still at his side. He began to lay out for Clancy and the doc all that had been revealed in the way Daniel had been tortured, especially in regards to his stab wound. Giving the doctor new insight as to why this infection is so difficult to fight. "I'm afraid that if he does live through this," The doc responded. "The scar will not go away."
~.~
"You want to try to get some more soup past your throat?" Hoss who stayed back in the room with his little brother asked.
"I'm tired Hoss. Just leave me alone." He rolled over turning his back on his brother. Hoss went to leave taking the bowl with him. "Wait." His elder brother turned back. This was hard for Joe to say. The hardest part was getting past his own pride and admitting... What? He thought. That he was afraid? Afraid of being alone. Admitting that he needed his big brother right there with him. "I'm sorry Hoss." Hoss was curious. What did Joe have to be sorry for? "I don't want you to leave." Joe expounded. "Not yet." Hoss nodded his head subtly, understandingly; setting the bowl softly back in its place. "Please. Can you stay with me?"
"Sure little buddy." He sat back down at the chair next to his baby brother. "You sleep. I'll be here." Hoss watched over his brother as he fell away from him. His baby brother was scared. His fiery, hot-tempered, take on the world; baby brother, was scared. It was only reasonable that he should be after what he'd been through. The story of what his brother had experienced danced vicious circles in his mind. He couldn't protect him then. He tried, but couldn't. He had a lot to make up for. He wanted nothing more than to hold him and protect him like this for the rest of his life.
~.~
"Listen Ben. There's still the other issue. The issue of the Tong. It seems that the Tong are putting it together just how we got them. We've got the young men in protective custody until they can testify but you Mr. Cartwright and your men are vulnerable. We don't know exactly what the Tong knows or how quickly they'll be able to figure out your involvement but my guess is, it won't take too much longer. Every day you're here is a risk."
"He can't take a trip like that back across mountain country. Especially with no doctor to care for him."
"It's this other one they're really after. I know your loyalty to that boy is strong, but by the looks of him, there's a very good chance he won't make it. Why risk your family for him? Take your boy home. Leave the other. There's no reason why your family needs to be caught up in this."
~.~
That night Ben sat at his son's bedside ruminating on these words. He couldn't believe those words would ever come out of a man like McFadden. Furthermore he couldn't believe he was actually considering them. He wanted to protect his boy. In his weekend state he could hardly protect himself. But if he had to, he probably could take Joe across country. Right now he was weak and exhausted and fighting back fever. His temperature was slightly elevated. But he could make it. Danny on the other hand. His injuries were too severe. The slightest jar could puncture a lung. Out there in open country there'd be no way to combat him drowning in his own blood. Plus there was the fever. They'd have to get the fever down first. Wait until he's at least a little bit stronger, but each passing day was a day sooner to being caught. He wanted to protect both boys. They were both vulnerable. Take Danny away across wild country in the condition he's in? Leave Danny, take Joe? Separate the hands, so both would be protected? Of course Ben would want to go with his son, but a large part of him would feel guilty for leaving Danny. He'd feel like he was abandoning him. Of course he wouldn't be leaving him completely. He'd leave men here with him. Still if something did happen to that boy and he wasn't here to protect him, he'd never forgive himself. Could he forgive himself if he forced Joe to stay and something happened to him? Dr. Lee would probably welcome the exodus. Happy to get his home back. He was too kind to tell them the intrusion was unwanted. Could he really leave Danny after all he's done for them? Would it be right? Was it really even right having him here instead of in a hospital? What more could they do for him that Dr. Lee hasn't done already? He was a good doctor. Would he be more or less protected in the hospital? Right now they don't know where they were. How long would that last?
The shrill cry sounded throughout the house.
~.~
"Clancy! Clancy! Get in here." He heard Hamp who was with Danny call out. Ben bolted upright as he was jarred from his thoughts and ran for the stairs. Clancy who was laid out in the living room staggered to the door. He was half asleep and his mind swam so he couldn't make reason of what he was seeing.
"He's suffering from deliriums. He's talking to himself." Hamp said. "Mutterings. I can't make them out."
His face was in a sweat. He moved his head from side to side. At times arching back like he was bucking. He twisted the blankets in his hands. He muttered. His eyes furrowed. His body was writhing. They felt for the boy. This was his first real sign of life and he was coming back to this world in pain. He wasn't fully coming back. Not yet. Just enough to feel the pain.
Ben made it in behind Clancy. There was little they could do for him but let him know they were there. Doc said this could happen. Let them know to prepare for it. It would be a good sign. A sign he was fighting.
Ben broke through and touched the boys face as he had so often when his boys fell ill. There was a little boy in there. So scared and so helpless.
"We're here, Danny. We're here." He touched the boy's forehead smoothing back his hair. A pitiful moan escaped him. His chest rose and fell in heavy rapid succession. His heart was beating hard and fast. But it was slowing at Ben's touch and sonorous tone. Another moan escaped his lips. "That's right. We're here for you. You're not alone." He stroked his hair. Danny had the same chestnut curls that little Joe had. Only now had he really noticed. Not as profound as Joe's. More like chestnut waves and darker. He saw him now as he'd never seen him before. He reminded him so much of Joe now. He had broader shoulders, taller but frail thin. Much thinner now than he had been weeks ago. He was thin then, now he was emaciated. He was fed little while in captivity and now being unconscious as he was, they could get nothing but liquid down his throat. He was pure, innocent, honorable, and oh so frail. Danny's mutterings became less severe. His heart slowed until he was again asleep.
The other's all went back to their beds. Ben stayed with Danny the remainder of the night.
~.~
The Assistant Chief was at the door the next day.
"Come on in. How's the investigation coming?"
"I have some bad news." The men gathered round. "The man that we had in custody. Vivian DeMatteis; I believe Joe would know him as Squirrely."
"Yeah?"
"He's out."
"He escaped?" Ben asked stupefied.
"No. He didn't escape." McFadden assured. "He posted bond."
"He posted bond? Where would he get his hands on that kind of money?"
"He didn't That's the bad news. We believe it was the Tong that sprung him."
"Why would they do that? I thought they would have made enemies."
"They did. We think they got to him so he could tell them about you. If they don't know about you already. It won't be much longer now. You got to get out Ben."
~.~
"Guys, guys; get in here!" Johnny who had taken over, called from the back room. Hoss and Adam were in the bedroom before Ben. Danny was fighting. Thrashing about. Trying to ward off some imaginary force. "Help me hold him." Adam shouted as he attempted to pin his legs. Johnny already had a hold of his upper body was struggling to control him. Danny was fighting with a strength they didn't know he had. The others went to pin him down just as they had done the first night. "Doc. Doc get down here!" Hoss was up at his arms trying to keep him from flailing. When the other guys came in to provide support, Hoss let them take over his charge. He leant into Danny as he saw his pa do, placing his large hand at the side of Danny's face trying to sooth him. But the boy reeled as if he'd been struck. Hoss grimaced and tried again. Caressing him, talking to him, mimicking his pa's actions. Trying to get him to hear him. Ben stood in the doorway and let his son work.
"Danny, you have to calm down, okay?" He cajoled. "It's us. You're safe." To which the boy just whimpered and moaned pitifully. "Danny it's us. You're safe. No one's going to hurt you."
"Nooo." He cried out and thrust upwards against their hold. "Please, pleease, please don't hurt me. Pleease."
"He's going to hurt himself." Adam says fighting to control his waist.
"Danny, were not going to hurt you but you have to calm down or you're going to hurt yourself." He wasn't hearing them. He was twisting trying to get his arms free.
His son's heart was in the right place, but what he was doing just wasn't enough. Ben moved through pushing his boy aside. "Danny you have to calm down." The boy whimpers under their hold and thrust up again.
A small dot paints the white bandage crimson and slowly mushrooms out. Adam clenches his eyes shut before informing the others.
"It's too late." Adam enounced disheartened.
"What?" They all look to Adam.
"He did it. He's hurt himself." He nodded to the crimson bandage before grimacing. "He opened it." The doc had come in looking over his thrashing patient in the throes of fever and down at the wound which had reopened. He readies a syringe and pushes Hoss aside plunging the needle into his strained arm. After a moment the boy relaxes and slips deeper into the darkness. The men released their hold. They all stood and stared at each other in eerie silence.
~.~
Adam washed his face and arms in the water basin and dried them with a towel. He stared at his reflection in the looking glass imagining now Danny someday staring at himself in the looking glass. Seeing all his various cuts and bruises and remembering back. The other wounds would go away given enough time. He could gain mobility back in his hand if he worked at it, but this scar because of the way the big man would torture him, this scar would always be there as a reminder. Something he would always see and remember. If he lived through it. There's the rub. Getting him to live through it.
Adam heard the commotion outside the door. The doc had come out of the room and the others had gathered around. Adam stepped out to hear what the doc had to say.
"We were lucky. His ribs hadn't broken. He hadn't punctured a lung. His wound though had to be re stitched and bandaged. I had to tear off more of the skin to give myself a clean cut to stitch. We had to tie him down. At least until the fever breaks and he's able to understand his surroundings and that he's safe. When the drugs wear off we could be facing another attack like the last one. The binds should keep him from thrashing about too much and reopening his wounds but on the flipside he's going to be more panicked than before realizing he can't move."
~.~
"Please. Please let me out of here." His eyes were wide open this time and wrought with terror. They darted about the room but saw no one but monsters. "Please. I don't want to be here."
Danny flinched like he was being struck. He flinched again. Some imaginary hand was striking him. Danny tried to lift his arm to block the imaginary blows but couldn't. He flinched again. "Joe." He writhed trying to pull himself from his restraints. No amount of soothing could calm him. Not when he was bound like he was. The men watched as he writhed and pulled at his binds. He was back in that place. He was panicked. Desperately trying to pull himself free.
"Joe!" The shrill pierced the night. Joe shoots up his bed. "Joe." He cried.
"I'm here. Danny, it's me." Joe rushes past the men. Danny flinched and bucked against his binds. The men grabbed his arms. To which the boy screamed. He flailed about. He wriggled trying to free himself. "Please. Let me go." He jerked again. "Joe!" He screamed out.
"I'm here Danny."
"I don't think he's calling you." Adam said. Joe looked to his brother to explain.
"Joe! Please stop!" He flinched at an unseen blows. Joe stood back confused. Was he telling Joe to stop? Was he imagining Joe was the aggressor? "No." He flinched again. "I'm Joe!" Danny screamed. He stepped away from Danny as realization washed over him, draining the color from his face. Danny was reenacting for them what he had been through. Joe knew. They all knew. Joe felt the heat of their judgment as they stared.
Joe hid his shame in ire. He turned and bolted for the door slamming into the broad chest of his brother who was just coming through with wet towels and a basin.
"Let me go Hoss." He pushed him aside and left the room. Hoss looked up at Adam inquisitive. "Joe!" He screamed. "I'm Joe!" The men stood around him helpless. It pained the men to know. To see it. It pained them that Danny was still living it. Caught in the throes of the nightmare. As helpless as they all felt, they could imagine the turmoil the little one was feeling. That poor boy to be so involved in something so beyond him. They had both suffered, so terribly.
~.~
Hoss found Joe outside pacing the ground.
"You okay little feller?"
"It should be me in that bed. Not him."
"Well, I think we all kind of glad it aint." Joe gave his bigger brother a cross look.
"You think Clancy's glad?"
"I don't think Clancy would be glad to see you there neither."
"It isn't right. Him going through all that. It isn't right."
"Joe, what happened to him was not your fault."
"He is hurting like that because of me."
"He made a choice. It's not your fault what happened to him."
"You're right. Him taking my place wasn't my fault. But the fact that I couldn't make it up to him. That was. I could have if I was a stronger man. But I'm not. I'm weak."
"Joe."
"I should have killed the men that did this to him. It should have been me to kill them."
"Little Joe." Joe's features scrunched as the tears broke through.
"That's how it should have happened. That's the only way I could ever make it right. The only way I could have ever made up for what he did for me. There's no way now. I don't know how else to repay him."
"We didn't know Danny too well before this happened. But from what we did know of the kid he didn't seem too much like the type to want that sort of revenge. He seems to me like the kind of kid that needs to feel safe and loved. His threat is gone. Once he comes to terms with that it might make it a tad easier to come back to us. Then he could look around himself and see all the people involved to help him feel safe and loved. He'll see them and he'll see us. How we're there for him. That's how you can make it up to him. By letting him know he's got something good in this world waiting for him."
"I almost left him. After what he did for me, I almost didn't go to save him."
"You had no proof that he was still alive. It would have been foolish if you did."
"But he was still alive. He was alive and suffering and I was scared. I almost let Danny die because I didn't believe them."
"But you didn't. You saved him." Hoss placed a sympathetic palm on his crestfallen back.
"How? How did I save him? I did nothing to save him. I put myself in a situation that there was no escape from."
"Perhaps you saved him from his biggest threat." Joe was perplexed. "Himself. You made him realize he's got something to live for. You gave him the will to fight. He's in there right now fighting because you let him know it was okay."
They were having a bit of a moment. Hoss hated to have ruined it. but…
"Little Joe did you know that you're burning up?"
"What?"
"Your back Joe. Turn around." He turned Joe to face him placing a hand on his head. "Oh Joe. You shouldn't be up."
"I'm fine."
"No you're not. Your hot. Let's get you back to bed."
~.~
Adam awoke coughing. He was downstairs where most of the men laid strewn about in the tight quarters. He wasn't the only one coughing. One by one the hands awoke coughing in the same manner and gasping for air. It was concerning.
"Fire." The house was on fire. The smoke came from the walls. "Fire!" He shouted alerting the others. The ones upstairs not yet feeling the effects. But also bringing to light to the ones nearest him as to what it was that ailed them. Adam ran for the stairs and shouted up them. "Fire! Everyone get out."
Sam Tucker ran for the front door and grabbed the handle reeling back in pain. The handle was hot. The fire was just on the other side. Jose ran for the kitchen window. Dan for the window in the living room. The fire was outside of both. Their egresses were blocked. The fires had been deliberately set surrounding the house. Intending to kill every living soul inside. The men were horror-stricken and panicked. Adam found it increasingly more difficult to breathe. He looked back at the form that had been still for hours, now sucking in deep breaths and choking on each one. Stirring but not waking. Jose and the men pulled Danny off the bed and onto the floor. Sam covering Danny's body with his own.
"Adam." Hoss was at the top of the landing.
"How's the air up there?"
"It's good still."
"The fire's outside creeping up the walls."
"How about the doors?"
"All the doors and windows are blocked. Is there a way out up there?" Their pa answered that question. "All the windows lead down into the fire."
"Can we make it onto the rooftop?"
"With two bodies it would be difficult."
"What would we do when we get there? We'd still be trapped, waiting for the fire to reach us."
"Maybe we can make it to a neighboring roof."
"Getting two bodies up there would be difficult enough. Now somehow we got to get them next door?"
"Sam just hurt his hand too. I don't think he can climb."
"We're trapped."
"We have to try something. We can't just die."
"They is way." The doc peeked his head from behind Hoss.
Through the smoke filled room, Dr. Lee led the group of men through the first floor living quarters and into the meager kitchen. There was a door that led down into the cellar. The air was clear down here, minus the smoke they brought with them in their clothes and still in their coughs. Dr. Lee pushed aside a medicine cabinet. Beneath where it had been standing were thin wooden planks in the floor. It was a hatch. He opened it revealing an underground tunnel. "Come on. Move. Move." He directed each one through the hatch, entering after the last man was through. The men found themselves in darkness when the hatch had been closed behind them, until Dr. Lee lit a match and brought it to a lantern he held in his hand.
"Is everyone okay? Are we all here?" The men looked around themselves taking a mental accountability. A few subtle nods answered him. Dr. Lee with lantern in hand took the lead, guiding the men through the underground tunnel away from the burning structure. The tunnel met up with a larger tunnel. It was a single strand in a vast network. The part that led to the house was a long dead part of the larger tunnel. But as they made their way through the passages they found some of these arms were very much alive and active. Men, unsavory men, rats of the human variety roamed these tunnels. Now and again they'd catch a glimpse of an unconscious young man being drug between some. Strikingly similar to how Sam and Jose drug Danny or how Hoss held Joe. One major difference was the men they caught glimpses of weren't being rescued. The problem was larger than any of them could ever imagine. If they could point their guns and save everyone they came across, but there were just too many. They snuck through like rats twisting and winding their way through until they reached another dead arm. "Here." Lee pointed upwards. It was a medal grate like skyward prison bars. Adam and Clancy worked together on pushing it out of the way.
One by one each man crawled out. Hoss lifted Joe to Adam and Clancy. Then crawled out next. Then Ben and Hopsing. Sam and Jose lifted Danny into the waiting arms of the Cartwright's, then followed after. Tolliver came up next. Hank came up last.
They stared out into the distance. There was a glow that came from the heart of the city. Shouting of men desperate to put out the fire. The men stared in awe. Jose broke first into laughter. Sam and Hank joined in. The rest of the men joined the chorus.
The men laughed giddily at their near death experience. Some making a bed of the ground.
"I guess this is God's way of telling us we need to make that journey sooner than we planned."
"It looks like I have no more reservations." Ben felt bad for smiling though he thinks that's what Lee's intention was for saying what he said.
"I'm sorry about your house."
"It is stuff. I get new stuff. But fust I must get house to put stuff in. That is okay. San Fuansisco no good foe me anyways. Too much busy. I need new place. Quiet place."
"Well, I don't know about quiet but I've got a place you could stay until you get settled."