Chapter 8
I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night. Probably because of the excitement I felt. Well too much.
I was anxiously waiting for Theodore's call.
I have my luggage ready to go. I brought 2 strollers, one for my clothes and another one for my tech stuff.
Well, I was supposed to retrieve all my stuff from the iCarly studio.
Computers, my cameras and not to mention the lights and everything else.
Well I couldn't just do it. I still wanted iCarly to continue and most likely Sam knows how to operate my stuff. I knew she wasn't dumb, and I knew that she was just too lazy.
But honestly the main reason was I just couldn't do it. They are still my best friends after all.
What would they do without me?
I actually liked it when they would always ask for my help.
I felt complete, almost. But it just looked like they needed my services and technical expertise and that was it.
I sighed. I had to stop mentally beating myself up over and over again against these things.
My room...
I'm definitely gonna miss it. Bushwell, Carly's apartment, Ridgeway, the park and Groovie Smoothies and not to mention Galini's.
I was at the verge of tears.
Three days ago I would have given anything to leave this hell hole.
But it was different on the day of my departure.
Everything came back, the memories, the times we had, happiness and pain.
But I needed to be strong. I'll be back anyway. Right?
I went downstairs and just gazed at the rest of our apartment. I'm definitely gonna miss this place.
Then my phone rang.
I checked my phone and on the display read "Theo".
I pressed the call button and answered.
"Hey Theo."
"Hey Freddie! Are ya ready?" Theo answered enthusiastically.
"Yeah." I answered back monotonously.
"You alright dude? Getting the homesickness early?"
"I'll be alright. I want to do this."
"You better tell me all about it when you get here. You haven't even bothered to tell me why you're really going here in the first place."
"I will."
"Okay, John and Jed will be at your lobby in 10 minutes. They will be riding a black Mercedes-Benz with a UHS sticker on the driver's side door, if you find no sticker do not talk to them."
I was surprised. A Benz?
"A Mercedes-Benz? Did I hear that correctly?"
"Yep"
"And what did you mean no sticker no talk?"
"We are hackers bro, we are naturally chased around."
This sounded a lot more dangerous than I anticipated it to be.
"Okay" was all I could say at the moment.
"Don't worry dude. You over analyze too much. They can't pin you down yet. You aren't even a member of the UHS so they can't arrest you."
He was right.
"Thanks Theo."
"No prob. Master hahaha"
"I ain't your master anymore, I'm your Padawan now."
"True true. But still, if it weren't for you I wouldn't be here."
I just laughed.
"See ya real soon."
"Gotcha Theo" and then ended the call.
I heard steps behind me, mom got down with tears streaming from her cheeks.
"Mom, I said I'd be visiting you from time to time right?"
"I know Freddiebear, its still hard for me to take it in that my son is already growing up."
I hugged mom tight.
"Just don't grow up too fast okay?"
"I'll try mom." I just smiled at her and she smiled back.
She escorted me to the lobby and Lewbert yelled. "NO LUGGAGE IN MY LOBBY."
"Oh can it Lewb!" Mom yelled back and Lewbert just clammed shut.
A couple of minutes more a black Mercedes-Benz rolled up and had the UHS sticker on the driver's side door.
Two white big muscley men got out and went toward the lobby.
They were twins, both of them were wearing black suits and black shades. The only difference is their hairstyles.
One had a mohawk and the other had slicked-back hair just like a mafia.
The one with a mohawk walked up to me.
"Fredward Benson I presume?" he said with a very broad and deep voice.
I was frozen, he was towering over me like a giant, he was clearly over 6 feet.
I swallowed hard and tried to talk.
But mom came up to the man and said "What do you want with my son! He is innocent!"
"Relax Mrs. Benson. We came here to escort Freddie to his new school. We are his bodyguards."
The other man nodded.
My mouth hung wide open. My bodyguards!
"Jed Jameson by the way" and offered mom to shake hands.
They shaked and mom began peppering him with questions.
"I apologize but I am not at any liberty to divulge any information. My sole task is the safety of Mr. Fredward Benson. That is my only protocol." Jed answered politely but was still intimidating due to his throaty voice.
My mom sighed and whispered to me "at least I know that you are in good hands."
I felt relieved that my mom was assured.
I hesitantly reached my hand out to Jed.
"Freddie" My voice was still shaking.
He reached out for the handshake.
"Nice to finally meet the mentor of my master." Jed answered with a small smile on his lips.
"That is John my twin."
John nodded and smiled as well.
This was Theo's bodyguards?
He was this rich? No wonder he mentioned that I only needed myself and my stuff for the trip.
I got excited and at the same time afraid.
I still can't shake the thought of undercover cops that might try to frame me or something.
I hugged my mom for the final time and said my goodbyes and out of the corner of my eye I could've sworn I saw Carly and Sam peeking from the elevator.
But it didn't matter to me right now.
John took my bags and placed them in the trunk.
I hopped inside the car ecstatically.
The interior was awesome, it looked like the inside of some spy car.
The seat covers were lined in soft black and white velvet.
I sat back and noticed that there was an LCD monitor installed at the back of the driver's seat.
Jed said "Seatbelts on."
I put my seatbelt on and we were now rolling down the road.
The LCD suddenly flashed open and a video started to play.
"Hey Freddie! If you are seeing this right now it means that you are in good hands. Guess you have met the twins. Well if not they are Jed and John Jameson. The one with a funky hairstlye is Jed and the quiet one is John. You are now enroute to the airport and will be boarding my private helicopter. You will be landing at my headquarters approximately 30 to 60 minutes from takeoff. See ya!"
He snapped his fingers and off went the video.
He had his own chopper!
Honestly I thought that we were in for a roadtrip, but I was wrong.
Theodore was RICH! I didn't know because back then he was just a scrawny looking boy who looked pretty much average. But now, he was filthy rich.
I shook my head, I have to stay focused at my goal at hand.
I wasn't in for a vacation, or a career or anything else.
I was doing this to get my life back.
I peered at the rear window and took a last look at Bushwell.
I slumped back into my seat, put on my earbuds and turned my Pearpod on.
I chose Start by Depapepe.
I let the melody fill me. I was swinging my head to the rhythm and I was tapping my knee with my hand in tune with the beat.
After a couple of minutes we were already at the airport.
I got out and John already took my luggage out of the trunk.
Jed left us and began talking to a person at the counter. We were led to a different ramp and was escorted by security. I felt like a VIP. Guards at my side and not to mention my two towering bodyguards.
We got to the chopper and one of the guards made me duck, the wind emitted by the roaring blades of the chopper almost blew me away. (Well I wasn't exactly heavy.) Good thing John was behind me and held me down.
After a few minutes of double checking, we took off.
The pilot signalled me to put on the headset. I reached up and unhooked the headset that was nearest to me.
"Freddie! Can you hear me?"
I almost yelled.
"Yeah this is Freddie. Who is this?"
"It's me Theo!"
"Oh" I muttered, I just couldn't recognize his voice that well because of the chopper noises I've been hearing.
"John will be putting a blindfold on you."
"why?" I instantly answered.
"It's for your own safety. It will protect us and you."
"How?" I said frantically.
"If you don't know the place, the cops won't chase you around and that would be a good thing for us too."
I just nodded and then John placed a really big blindfold on me. I thought he would tie my hands behind my back too but to my relief he did not.
I felt the chopper descend and it landed with a small thud. John took off my blindfold and helped me get off the chopper.
He held my head down and moved away from the chopper.
I straightened up and looked around.
I looked over the chopper and there was a cliff, nothing but water at that direction.
I looked on the other side and saw nothing but a great meadow followed by a forest in the distance.
Behind me was a great mansion.
Kinda looked like a small castle. But still a mansion nonetheless.
Jed came up to me, "This way sir."
They escorted me into the mansion.
I got in a great hall emerged in front of me with a grand staircase moving up into the second floor. The kind you would only see in the movies.
And from the second floor a person emerged from one of the rooms.
Halfway down he came running.
"Fredward Benson." he exclaimed.
Before me was a Theodore Masarotti, no longer a scrawny looking kid but a regular looking teenager. Not thin, not built and not bad-looking either. His hair was straight and black, slicked back with some hair wax and was wearing a black tee, jeans and sneakers.
"How'd you like my place?" he beamed.
"Your place?" I asked.
"Yeah, from my own sweat and blood."
Woah, he is as my age and he already had all of this?
"How'd you do it?" I asked with my eyebrows bunching up.
"I just did what you told me and applied everything you taught and innovated them. So practically I owe everything to you."
I was taken back. Wow is all I could form in my head.
"You haven't told me your story yet. Wanna talk about it out at my backyard?"
"Sure" was all I could muster at the moment still taken back from what he said.
"Wait, I gotta talk to the twins first." he said and turned to Jed and John.
"John, take Freddie's stuff to my suite, but before you do I need both of you to hear this."
"You are to treat Freddie like the master of this house. What's mine is his and everything entitled to it. You are to protect him at all times-" I cut him off.
"No Theo, you worked for all of this. I am happy to be your guest already."
"No Freddie, without you I may never have accomplished this big a feat."
"But-"
"No buts Benson." since when did he became pushy? I couldn't complain since this was HIS house.
I sighed.
"At least take off the protection thing, I don't think I can ever be comfortable with two big guys following me around. No offense Jed, John." I said turning to the twins.
John nodded and Jed said "None taken."
"At least protection while you are here in my island."
"Okay fine." I said as I threw my hands in the air.
"Good. Lets go then." said Theo and motioned me to follow him.
Going under the great staircase we went straight into a short corridor that was lined with glass for walls.
Finally getting to the end, Theo pushed open the great french door that separated the house from the backyard or garden or whatever was back there.
It was amazing. A field of greenery caught my sight and cutting it off for a boundary was the river. We were a little bit elevated, somewhat on a hill but you can easily tell it wasn't steep.
"Hey flies might call your mouth home if you leave your mouth hanging wide like that." Theo laughed under his words.
"I can't help it can I?" I said sarcastically and I rose an eyebrow.
"Tea? or Peppy Cola?" Theo asked.
"Peppy Cola" I answered without batting an eyelash.
We sat down at his tea table.
"Wilson!" He shouted and clapped his hands twice.
and out of nowhere a man around late 40's showed up.
"Yes young master?"
"Get us some food, Irish tea for me and Peppy Cola for Freddie." He asked politely.
"Right away sir." He bowed and vanished after turning around the corner.
"You even have a butler?"
"Dude that's common sense. Big house?" Theo said as he motioned his arms and gestured to the mansion.
"I have a couple of maids too, it might save you from astonishment later on. Best you know now." He laughed.
Wilson came back after a few minutes with tea, a can of Peppy Cola and some dark chocolates.
We laughed and talked. I told him my story and my reason for asking for help. The only thing was I didn't know Theo was rich. (If ever you're wondering where his parents are, don't ask. They left him when he was still a kid.)
"I like what you're thinking. Just like what I did back then."
"Back then?" I asked.
"Yeah, remember the Dooson Brothers?"
"Uhuh" I answered as I was about to take another sip of my Peppy Cola but did a spit take instead after realization.
"It was you who got them expelled?"
"Yep and not only that. I got the twins to hang them by their underwear in a tree at the park." He said as he laughed insanely.
"Good thing I called you." I said and smirked.
We talked some more and I asked question about the UHS, the blindfold, the mansion and other stuff.
He laughed at somepoint. "You already sound like your mother Benson." and then continued explaining.
It was already late afternoon when we stopped talking. The sun was already hanging low and the chilly wind started blowing over.
I asked one more thing. "You're a hacker right? What do you hack into? Why is it that dangerous?"
Theo's face straightened out. He paused.
"I am a black ops hacker. I'm the one the government comes to when they need help with Black ops."
"Black ops are movements unseen to the public, ops they deem neccessary for the greater good."
I was struck in horror.
"Don't worry Freddie. Just like you told me. Plan everything carefully. Look at every view point and calculate from there."
"Still here after 3 years, not even a lead to me yet." He said confidently. "And I don't take part in any assasinations." He added.
I just smiled.
Then out of nowhere Wilson pops up.
"Young master, Dinner is almost served." Wilson said.
"We'll eat later Wilson. This is my mentor." Theo said and smirked jokingly.
"Ahh, the infamous Fredward Benson I suppose? It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance good sir." He reached out for a handshake.
I just nodded and shook his hand.
"You know what to do Wilson." Theo said.
"Acknowledged young master."
We got up and discussed what I would be doing even the part about Parkour. Theo said he will not let me work with the hackers. He said that he didn't want my hands dirty on anything. He offered financial aid and everything. I declined of course. But he very well insisted.
"By tomorrow you will have your own Parkour playground." He said.
"What?"
"Yes, I already told Wilson to make one ASAP."
"Dude you have to stop suprising me."
"That's pretty normal here. I have my own theme park here as well to kill my boredom at times."
"What the chizz?" I exlaimed.
"Chizz?" He asked with his eyebrows all scrunged up.
"I take it you got that from Sam?"
"Maybe?" I just shrugged my shoulders and laughed.
He showed me around the house and finally showed me his base of operations.
We entered his library and got a book. It was old and the letters were faded. He flipped the book over and placed his palm over the back. The book glowed and it looked like it scanned Theo's hand.
The shelf opened and there it showed the hacker's room.
It was dark and the only light came from the computer monitors.
3 people stood up. 2 girls and a boy. A brunnete, A blonde and an Asian kid. I couldn't really make out much of what they looked like since it was dark.
They lined up and Theo introduced them, "This is my team, Ashley (brunette), Bridget (blonde) and Ken (the asian dude)."
"And this is Fredward Benson."
They greeted me with handshakes.
"Our master's mentor?" Bridget asked.
I just nodded again.
They began talking amongst themselves.
"We'll see you guys later, just alert me if any red flags pop up." Theo said and we left the room.
We had dinner which was awesome. It was like eating at a first-class restaurant. A long dining table able to seat 14 people and food sprayed over the tabletop.
Dinner was over and was I stuffed.
Theo ushered me to my room. My mouth hung wide open as Theo opened the double doors.
The room was huge!
The room made my apartment look like a dingy janitor's closet.
It had it's own living room, music room, computer room, a gigantic bathroom with a jacuzzi and a double king-sized bed!
Everything was classy, baroque designed but a little bit more modern. Cloth wallpaper, lushly designed carpets and a chandelier at the living room. There was even a fireplace!
John already settled my stuff inside and I began to unpack.
"I'll be running a few things around, better get your sleep. I'll see you in the morning." Theo shut the door behind him but quickly came back and peeked through the door.
"Just call Wilson if you need anything."
"yeah yeah dude, do what you gotta do." I smiled at him and he left.
I got my stuff out and placed them in the closet. Meticulously sorting them out.
I got out to the terrace to enjoy the night. I stared at the stars and the moon.
My mind flew back to Seattle, "I wonder what they're doing now."
Quite a long chapter. Whew. Tell me what you think :D
For my reviewers:
Julefor : My thoughts exactly on the Sam's POV :D
Urias : Like I've said it would mess up everything if I jammed Sam's POV in this story. It would conflict so much on Freddie's side of the story. But point still taken. Don't worry the whole story with Freddie and Sam's POV is still not made so I will still put some consideration on it. Thanks.
Geekquality : Thanks C:
Demi909Lovato : Thanks a lot :D
Anonymous Rex : It will be done soon I promise you that XD Still juggling work, parkour and writing right now. XD
LoveRmalfoy : If only so they did so T_T. But thanks for your comment! it made me smile :D seriously XD
also thanks to :
Onibaku : My twin
22 random ninja 22
Loki
Seddielover
Flutter360
Nenelitha123
Oceanmistsupporter
Techygirl
Thanks again.
Mikradios
DISCLAIMER : I AM NOT DAN SCHNEIDER, I DO NOT OWN iCarly AS WELL. too bad eh?
