The rest of that day passed in a blur, both for myself and the rest of the house. I awoke only once, to consume dinner, which Heero, who had already rested the previous day, was able to make. The nervous energy that had sustained us all through the previous day seemed to have given out, and even Wufei was dragging. Quatre seemed barely able to wake himself enough to eat, and had managed to gain a slight fever in his sleep that would have to be watched closely in the coming days. For the time being, I merely administered some over the counter cold medication and sent him back to bed. The others, as well, I forced to retire, including Heero once he had seen that the horses were settled for the night. By all accounts, we slept through more of Tuesday than we saw.
When I awoke Wednesday morning I was alone in bed, which wasn't unusual since Wufei is usually a very early riser, although on this particular morning I couldn't help but wish that he'd stayed in bed. Everything seemed too crisp, too bright for me to handle when coming from the sleep-stupor I had been in since yesterday. The crispness of the air reminded me that we had few cool day left until the hottest days of summer would banish these stray storms from the area, and then few scant weeks from there before we would return to Collar for our first, and hopefully last, competition. So far I had not been able to see more than a few of the boys' lessons, and I had seen none of Duo's acts, nor was I even certain he had been practicing. I had tasted Quatre's cooking skills often enough, but nothing of his other competitions, and likewise I had seen only a few of the weapons Trowa had created, nothing more. I had helped Heero on several of his lessons, which hardly made up for the fact that I knew nothing about Duo's. Wufei was probably alright with his tasks, as he was something of a legend, but it still worried me how little I knew about what we were going to be doing in roughly six weeks' time.
As well, it reminded me that I had only a few more weeks until I would be expected at several parties at different master's houses, all of which had sent me invitations weeks ago. Many, I knew from Collar circles, were from powerful masters who might be able to help in my quest to win Collar, and I had accepted four invitations and replying that I would stay no longer than three days at each. With traveling, I hoped to have this over within two weeks. I had yet to decide which slave I would be taking with me to each of the events, for I had written in reply that I could not afford to deprive more than one slave at a time from valuable practice time. I was leaning heavily toward taking Duo with me for at least one of the trips, if only I could be assured that he would behave. As hesitant as I was to leave him behind again, I was almost more hesitant to take him away from Heero's stabilizing support.
It crossed my mind then that I would probably have to leave Duo for at least a few days in the near future to take a "business trip" as Preventers would most likely not allow me to go back to Collar without a progress report, and since I wouldn't have time for it closer to Collar I had better schedule it for before. I would need to create a plan of attack for Preventers now that I had experience with this enemy, and I would have to decide what signal I would use to start the attack once I was certain where the Owner was. Perhaps the Preventers' lab had cooked something up for this very occasion…
My thoughts were interrupted as Wufei entered the room, and for once I was glad to lose my train of thought. Even better, he carried with him a tray of breakfast, and I could have wept at the glorious smells coming from it. Only then did I realize how ravenous I was, and at once my stomach let out a yowl so loud that I blushed. Wufei merely chuckled.
"I see I am well received," he teased, placing the tray in front of me. "After you slept like the dead last night I thought you might be hungry this morning, still replenishing your fat stores from your trek into the forest, I see."
"If Quatre keeps cooking like this I'll have an entire vault of fat to pull from on my next trek, but I might be too fat to walk."
"I doubt that," Wufei said, coming to sit beside me and handing me a plate of food. "Not with all the stress we put you through, anyway."
"You could be right about that," I said, taking a bite of omelet and savoring the flavor. But something was off, and it took me a moment to figure out what was wrong. "Wufei, aren't you going to eat with me?" I wondered. Wufei started and blushed in response.
"I hadn't thought of it," he said, smiling in a self-depreciating sort of way, "I suppose old habits die hard."
"As I'm coming to see," I told him, for I had often faced the habits drilled into my slaves by their former masters, although Wufei always seemed the least scarred by those encounters. Still, it would be silly to think that his psyche would be completely untouched, especially after years with the Owner. "Still, the only way to break a habit is to defeat it," I told him. "And so, viola," I said, holding my fork, a piece of omelet perched on the end, to his lips. After a moment's hesitation, he took it. "We have defeated your habit."
"I don't think it's that easy," he said after swallowing the egg.
"Maybe not, but let's let me dream for now, alright? So, help me finish this food. Have the other boys eaten?"
"Yes, were up earlier this morning and most have already started their lessons," he said, then paused for a moment, a hesitation that was strange for him. "Duo is awaiting his punishment."
I stopped, holding completely still for a moment, with the shock of this reminder. I had almost forgotten that I had promised to punish Duo, and now it seemed that I would have to make good on that promise regardless.
"I'll handle it," I replied curtly. "Tell Duo to meet me in my study at noon."
"Do you know what you'll do?" he asked softly, as though we were being hunted. Then again, questioning a master was probably considered dangerous in Collar, so perhaps his caution was warranted. I smiled reassuringly.
"I'll handle it," I told him, which seemed to reassure him, and we finished the rest of breakfast in relaxed silence.
It was 9:30 before I managed to finish breakfast and trek down to my office, and 10:30 before I managed to convince myself of what I had known would have to be done since I found that Duo was missing.
Despite the fears of the rest of the house, I had no intention of getting rid of Duo. I was aware of how far he had come to adjust to our ways, and I knew how important he was to Heero, not to mention how valuable he would be at Collar. It wasn't the fact that Duo had run off that upset me; it was the fact that he had almost been killed because I had not been able to find him. What if, instead of running off, Duo had been kidnapped? What if someone had managed to get the anklet off of one of the boys while we were shopping and carried him off? What if one of them had simply gotten lost somewhere on the property and was unable to find a way back?
In my mind, there didn't seem to be any choice. I would have to implant a tracking chip on all of them, a measure that Sally had been supporting since I had brought them home. The chip would allow my security team (and Preventers) to be able to locate them in case of an emergency. It would also let us locate them quickly if one got kidnapped or lost. Lastly, and the reason I was most hesitant to have it implanted, it would allow security to find them quickly if one attempted to run off.
I had hoped it wouldn't come to these extremes. It was unfashionable at Collar of have tracking chips in slaves, since this was often taken as a sign that the master couldn't control his slaves. Beyond that, though, it would make it very hard for me to convince the boys that I did have faith in them now that I was literally putting a digital leash on them. It would also make it far more difficult to create a feeling of normality in their lives, and I worried what this last invasion of their privacy would do the their psyches.
Still, even though I was reluctant to go to such lengths, in light of recent events it seemed unavoidable. Having them alive and upset would still be far better than having them dead. I would not risk losing any of my boys to stupid mistakes and careless errors of judgment. By 11:00 I had made the necessary calls and everything was in order, and I set about other tasks while I waited for Sally to arrive.
At 12:03, a soft knock sounded on my door, and after a hesitant moment the door opened and Duo peeked his head in.
"Hey," he said softly, completely without his usual brash fire. "Wufei said you wanted to see me? And Sally just pulled up outside. I think she said she'd been in the medical room if you needed her."
"When," I corrected. "I asked her to come today to do more than give you a check-up."
"I kind of figured," he said sullenly. "So what do you have in mind? Tattoos? Branding? Branding hurts more, but tattoos are harder to get rid of when I change masters. They all suck, but I guess it's better than being sold."
"I'm not going to brand or tattoo you, and if I were I certainly wouldn't invite Sally to help with it. She'd kill me if she knew I'd even though of it," I replied, repressing the urge to reach out to Duo. Duo's mask was often so firmly in place that I would forget how much abuse he had suffered in the past.
"Then what the hell do you need her for?" he groused, and I could see his anxiety lighting his usual spark of violence. His body tensed as I watched, and I sighed mentally as I realized how difficult this was going to be. It was lucky I hadn't giving in to the temptation to touch him; I was fairly certain that Duo would have struck out had I attempted.
"I'm going to have you tagged with a tracking device," I told him bluntly. "Sally will inject a chip about the size of a grain of rice into your shoulder so that I will be able to track you at all times."
"That's it?" he wondered, and I was astounded to see him visibly relax. "That's not such a big deal. I mean, it sucks that you'll always know where I am, but I don't go anywhere you don't know about anyway."
"I suppose," I replied hesitantly. Duo was like handling unknown chemicals. I was never certain what would set him off and what would merely fizzle out, but it was always certain that if I did get a reaction it would almost always result in something blowing up. "Well, in that case, let's go se Sally. I'm sure she'll want to finish this quickly. We can discuss your punishment this evening, after the others are finished."
"Wait," Duo said, frowning and coming to a halt where he had been approaching the door. "What others?"
"Ah… the other boys."
I could almost see the chemicals mix as he contemplated that statement, and I could only await the imminent explosion.
"You can punish everyone just because I made a boneheaded mistake! That's totally not fair!"
"Duo, this isn't a punishment for your mistake. You're punishment will be cleaning out the horse stalls until further notice and a complete suspension of your riding privileges. However, you're little outing into the woods made me realize just how easy it would be for one of you to get lost or even kidnapped. I'm not going to risk losing you or any of the others over something as tiny as a tracking chip. Now, you can shut up and go to the medical room, or I can haul you there. One way or another, you are getting this chip."
To my great relief, Duo picked the first option, huffed, and stormed out of the room.
Sally, as expected, was waiting for us in the medical room, here gear already unpacked an neatly arranged. She seemed to sense Duo's angry mood, and made quick work of delivering injection that would numb the part of Duo's shoulder that was to contain the chip. From there we only had to wait a few minutes for the drug to take effect, with Duo glaring sullenly at the floor, before Sally was able to insert the device. The device was delivered using piece of equipment similar to a large syringe, except that only the tip had to be inserted, as the tip contained the chip, which would naturally lodge in the skin as the needle was withdrawn. Although the chip was small, it still took a bit of force to penetrate it through the skin and into the muscle of the shoulder, so Sally was careful to disinfect and bandage the site before releasing Duo with stern orders not to do any significant lifting for the rest of the day.
"I'll also be leaving something for the soreness with Zechs, so if it starts to hurt or stiffen up just ask for the prescription," sally instructed. Duo nodded, but I knew that even if his arm was about to fall off, he would not ask me for any drugs.
"Send Trowa in next," I told Duo softly. "And Duo? Try not to give him any warning as to what is going on. Trowa reacts very badly to needles, and I it would be far easier on him if we could avoid any hysterics."