Tone of Deceit

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

Chapter 18 (Little Wolf)

Beck entered Lane's office, sweeping what looked like hair off his pants and shirt. Taking a breath, he lifted his eyes and scanned the area. "Mr. Alexander?" The room was shockingly empty. He called out again, just to be sure, before making his way towards the man's desk.

The silence was astounding and eerie, yet he was grateful for it. While keeping his ears tuned for any noises, such as the latch on the door clicking or footsteps on the other side, he carefully opened the top drawer of the man's desk. "Let's see what you got here, Lane." He narrowed his eyes and began to rummage through the paperwork.

Finding nothing of value, he shut the door and moved to the next. Each drawer had meaningless files and papers, nothing to indicate any criminal ties. "Of course, like you're going to keep that shit out and in the open." He raised himself up and began to scratch the back of his head.

Just then his phone sounded off, causing him to flinch and look at the door immediately before realizing it was only his phone. "Fuck." Grabbing the offending object, he glanced to the screen and groaned when he saw it was his father calling. Rather than hang up on the man, he answered and brought the phone to his ear. "Hey pop, what's going on? I can't talk much, I'm at my school counselor's office."

"School counselor?" Kyle's voice was weak and groggy, as if he were just waking up. "You mean that Lane guy?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." A tone of sorrow filled his father's voice and Beck started to roll his eyes. "I won't keep you long, I guess. Just wanted to talk to my son. No time for your old man, I guess."

"Dad, can we not do this?" He walked over to Lane's couch and took a seat, his eyes still scanning the surrounding. It was then that he noticed a large lockbox on a high shelf in the room. His eyes lit up with excitement and he clenched his fist, eager to let the Vegas know. "Aha, I'll bet that's where Lane keeps his logbook."

"Logbook? Son, what are you up to?"

"Nothing pop, don't worry 'bout it."

"Why don't you ever talk to me? Am I to be abandoned by you too?" The office door started to open and Beck flinched once more, dropping his phone between the cushions.

He hissed and started to reach for the phone, but stopped when Lane's voice filled the room. "Beckett? What are you doing here?" Beck turned his head, chuckling nervously.

"Obviously waiting for you." He shrugged. "I thought we had an appointment." Lane nodded once and his narrowed gaze scanned the area as if checking for anything out of place. Beck hooked his elbow over the edge of the couch and smiled. "What took you so long, huh?"

"Oh just talking with Principal Eikner. Seems that the school is going through a bit of a rough patch nowadays…For a man of his stature, even he needs a counselor's help from time to time." Lane laughed once and made his way to the couch. Beck could almost feel the man's questioning glare upon him. It made him fearful that he'd missed something. "How have you been?"

Lane took a seat on the recliner across from Beck. "I've been okay. Just going through a rough patch myself….never seems to get any easier, man." He frowned, his eyes drifting towards his phone. The screen was still lit, to his surprise, he had to wonder if his father was still on the line."

They proceeded to converse about current happenings. As the conversation went on, Lane would occasionally get up and move to his desk. Beck watched the man's every move, but felt as though he were sizing him up just as much as he was doing.

"And how is your father faring lately?" Lane walked behind the couch and Beck looked ahead of him, taking a deep breath. "Such a shame it would be for you to distance yourself from him. I know we've talked about your handling of his depression before…"

"It is what it is." Beck waved his hand through the air. "Dad just can't get over Mom's betrayal. I love my dad, don't get me wrong, but I can't be a nursemaid to him for the rest of his life. He has to stand up and take action where it counts, because nobody else can pull him out of his personal hell besides himself. I love my father, and I'm always going to listen to his problems; but I'm not sure I can save the man."

"No," Lane answered, "I'm afraid you can't." Beck raised an eyebrow and felt a hand on his shoulder. Before he could turn, he felt a prickling sensation in his neck. His eyes grew wide as a cold sensation slipped into his veins. "You'll fetch a good price from the Knights, I'm sure…"

"Motherfucker…" Weakness overtook his body and he tried to pull away; but Lane's grip on his shoulder tightened and pushed him down. "You idiot, they won't want me." His voice slurred and his vision began to dim. Finally, Lane released his hold on him, allowing him to stumble up from the couch and turn around in an attempt to strike at the man.

His movements were far too slow and Lane dealt a powerful strike into his right temple, knocking him on the ground. Before he lost consciousness, he thought he could hear his father's voice calling out to him, pleading for him to wake up. Perhaps, it was only his imagination.

When he awoke, he found himself in a similar situation as Ryder described, with his wrists bound behind his back and a sack over his head. It smelled of potatoes and had a leathery feel. Obscured by total darkness, with only a dim light trying to break through the bag, Beck was overcome by a feeling of terror. He knew to remain still, there was no sense in struggling; but it was hard not to scream and panic.

Inhaling slowly, he remembered some of the things he personally discussed with Mr. Vega and with Trina. This advice was not to let fear overtake and to try and find ways to take in the environment as much as possible.

He could see some small tears in the bag, they weren't much but yet they revealed just enough for him to make out the outside world. When he heard the all too familiar voice of the Knight's leader he froze and held his breath.

Jesse was not happy from the sound of it, his usual calm tone was filled with anger and annoyance. Through the tears, he could see Lane, stepping back as Jesse's glare focused on him. "Are you a fool? Bringing him to us? On one hand, it could be a stroke of genius; but for the most part, idiotic."

"I had no idea he was a part of your gang. He mentioned having run with a gang before, not who the exact gang was."

"Just the fact alone that he was a part of a gang should be enough for you to understand…he has knowledge of how gangs operate. He has people within the gang that are still loyal to him. This is a risky gambit." Jesse stopped and raised his hand upwards, tapping his fingertips onto his chin. "Still, it could be useful."

As the man turned his gaze over, Beck dropped his head to appear still unconscious. He listened as Jesse's hum filled his ears. There was a note of delight in Jesse's eyes. "Interesting, he's our hostage now. I'll have to figure out what to do with him."

"You're not going to sell him off to the gangs?"

"I'm not so sure I will. I'll leave that up to debate for now. You can go." Beck rolled his eyes and groaned under his breath. He hated the prospect of being the Knights's hostage. Still, they knew him-they knew what made him tick and what buttons to push. He couldn't let them win, not if they were determined to go the route of forcing him at their whim.

He listened to Lane's departing footsteps and then waited for any further movements or noises. Jesse was walking slowly, his feet dropped hard with each step. The man's arms swung tightly beside his waist, his darkened eyes seemed to burn a hole through Beck.

"You awake there?" Before he could lift his head, he felt a sharp blow from Jesse's foot connecting with his side. He dropped to the ground and clenched his teeth, sucking in the pain as much as he could. "Not so tough now, are you?"

Jesse kicked him hard in the lower back and Beck let out a pained grunt. "Fuck you," he said with headed breath, "Kicking a man while he's bound and on the ground."

Jesse laughed.

"Oh come now, you've forgotten us this much?" The bag was ripped off Beck's head and light stabbed his eyes, blinding him for several seconds. Just then, the man struck him hard across the face, then grabbed his jaw and cheeks forcefully, twisting Beck's neck towards him. "You're our bitch now, little wolf."

Beck snarled, not without realizing the irony. "Go to hell, Jesse." Jesse laughed once more and released his grip, but not before striking a heavy blow into his chest, causing him to fall onto his back and cry out. "Coward! How about you untie me and see how tough you are."

"Too easy. Too easy to set you off." Jesse grabbed him by the back of his shirt and yanked him off the ground. "Never knew when to keep your mouth shut, always hungry for the next fight. That's fun."

Beck coughed and spit up on Jesse, letting blood and saliva coat the man's face. Jesse let out a sigh and turned away to grab a towel from a nearby table. "I heard you tell Lane you weren't going to sell me off to another gang. That may be the dumbest mistake you've ever made." Beck narrowed his eyes, watching as Jesse wiped his face with the towel.

"Oh is it?" The man turned a stony-faced glare onto him, then tilted the right corner of his mouth upwards. "I know you best, little wolf. I know how strong your will is, how powerful your resolve is. Other gangs would kill you just trying to get you to simply talk, don't think I am not aware of that fact." Jesse began moving towards him, locking his glare with Beck. "But you see, they don't know how to get close enough to make you squirm like we do."

"Is that so?" He straightened himself, trying to hold his head as high as he could so as not to give Jesse any reason to believe he was imitated. Jesse caught on it seemed and started to laugh.

"Right there." The man pointed. "There it is, exactly what I'm talking about. Defiance in the face of danger; but that tough façade slips the minute certain people in your life are mentioned, does it not?" He clenched his fist and his eyebrows quivered.

Jesse paced to the right a bit. "Like that beautiful little thing you've got clinging to your arm." Beck's eyes opened wider and Jesse turned his back to him. Beck began to shuffle his wrists, as though trying to free his binds. Jesse lifted his head back a bit and scoffed. "Or that depressed fuck that calls you his son. How his days may be numbered just because of alcohol, but we could help him along surely."

"Don't you dare." Beck started to raise his voice. "You miserable little fuck, don't you dare touch my father." Jesse turned his head a bit more, smirking wider.

"See my point?" Jesse dropped the towel back onto the table and turned to face him. He moved his fingertips together, forming a triangle with his hands. "What of those wonderful friends of yours? Would they like you if they knew everything that you did during your time with us?"

Beck scoffed. "I've already told my friends about being in a gang."

"Yes, but did you tell them all the atrocities you committed? Such as setting fire to the houses on 9th street at the request of homeowners trying to get insurance money?" Beck turned his eyes to the side and growled. "You were fierce, but then you got a little scared by one small detail."

"Small? Human Trafficking is not a small thing."

Jesse flashed a toothy grin and Beck felt his heart sinking into despair for a moment. "Well Beck, as they say, the best way to handle your greatest fears is to face them head on." Beck furrowed his brow. "I think you'll make a great auctioneer for the next bidding cycle." Fear gripped his heart and he felt beads of sweat forming at his brow.

"No, no I won't do that. I won't sell people off to whatever the hell you do!"

"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice, little wolf." Jesse shrugged. "I've already got people just waiting to slit your drunk father's throat this very moment." Beck growled at him and bared his teeth, but forced down the anger rising within his veins. "Guess you don't hold all the cards anymore, huh?"

Well, Beck is in a bad spot, and we thought it'd be one of the girls to get kidnapped eh? What will happen next, any thoughts on everything here?