Sam jolted awake, his vision blurred and his head pounding. He tried to move, but the ropes binding his hands behind his back were too tight. He looked around, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dim light, until a faint sniffling sound caught his attention. He turned and saw a small boy, tears streaming down his face.
"Hey, buddy." Sam said gently.
"What's your name?"
The boy hesitated, wiping his nose on his sleeve.
"Jackson."
"How old are you, Jackson?"
Jackson lifted his hands and held up seven fingers, then paused before whispering,
"Seven."
Sam nodded, trying to keep his voice calm.
"I'm Sam, do you remember how you got here?"
"There were 2 men, I was playing in the sandbox."
"Where was your mom and dad?"
"Dead… it was my social worker and someone else that brought me here."
Sam's heart sank.
"Do you know their names?"
"Mr. Ryan and Mrs. Paisley."
Sam smiled at least he had names to trace. Sam tried to remember how he fit into this. A trafficking ring that preyed on vulnerable kids, often under the guise of legitimate foster care and social services. The names Ryan and Paisley were the ones running it according to what Jesse had found out, Jackson hadn't been the clients kid Skye was but Michael and Fi had grabbed her, Sam had been walking out of the park when the same white van that guys that had Skye jumped out grabbing Jackson and Sam took off after and somehow ended up here.
"You got to me before they threw me in the van, but they hit you over the back of the head and threw you in beside me. They brought us into this room, with bags over our heads." Jackson whispered, reading his mind.
"How long ago?"
"Yesterday. It's not been daylight long."
Sam nodded, looking around the flickering overhead light, the metal door, and the single barred window high up on the far wall. The walls were concrete, and there wasn't anything except the two of them, a mattress and the chair. Sam was sitting in the chair and Jackson was on the mattress. Footsteps echoed outside the door, drawing closer. Sam held his breath, and Jackson stayed quiet. The footsteps stopped right outside, and they heard the sound of keys jangling. A large man walked in, his eyes narrowing as he took in Jackson with a look that made Sam cringe. He felt his stomach twist even more when the man turned that same look on him. The guy smirked, his teeth flashing in the dim light, and he leaned against the doorframe, his voice rough. Sam kept his gaze steady, his muscles tense as he watched the man's every move, trying to read his intentions. Jackson shifted slightly on the mattress, but kept silent, as the guy walked over to him. His eyes raked over Jackson that made Sam cringe, tying to distract him Sam said,
"What do you want with us?"
The guy stopped from bending down, turned and walked over to him.
"With him, everything. He's worth something." Pointing to Jackson, pointing at him.
"I could get about twenty on the black market for him, and about five for you."
Sam shifted uncomfortably as the guy came up to him, running his hand up his arm.
"So, which one of us is more valuable to you?" Sam asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
The guy stopped his hand on his neck and jerked back his head. Sam could feel his breath on his neck and a hand unbuttoned his shirt then felt him pulling at his zipper on his pants.
"Depending on how good you are before I decide to keep for myself or sell you with the boy. Or maybe I'll keep both of you for myself." He whispered, running his hand up and down his cock.
Sam was looking over at Jackson who was crying and thankfully not looking at what was happening to him. He finally came, after he tucked him back into pants. The guy left his hands tied behind him as he back toward the door, Sam watched Jackson crying,
"Hey."
The guy looked back over,
"Untie me so I can comfort him. I won't try anything, I swear."
The guy pulled a gun, putting it to Jackson's head, and dragged him over to Sam. He cut him loose and pushed Jackson toward him, and walked backward toward the door pointing the gun toward them he walked out shutting the door locking it. Jackson started crying, Sam pulled him into a hug. Jackson wrapped his arms around his neck.
"I'm scared." He cried.
Sam pulled back looking him in the eye, wiping his face.
"I know you're scared, Jackson. But we're going to get through this. I'll protect you, buddy." Sam pulled him close again, Jackson resting his face against his shoulder.
Sam walked over to the mattress, sitting Jackson on the ground. He sat down on the mattress, Jackson sat beside him, Sam laid down and Jackson followed.
"Does anyone know we're here?" Jackson whispered.
"My… partners might figure it out." Sam said, thinking about Michael and Fi.
Jackson turned toward him, Jackson's eyes searched Sam's face, filled with both hope and fear.
"Do you think they'll find us soon?"
Sam gently brushed a stray hair from Jackson's forehead.
"I hope so. They're good at this kind of thing. For now, we need to stay calm and stay quiet."
Jackson nodded. Sam squeezed him, both drifting off to sleep. Michael and Fi were worried as they and Jesse had heard nothing from Sam since the night before.
"Michael, something is wrong, Sam should have been back, he said he would bring back dinner." Fi said.
"What if something happened? He could be hurt, or… worse." Fi looked at him, her eyes filled with concern.
Michael tried to reassure her.
"It was just recon, Fi." He said, though the uncertainty in his voice betrayed him.
Fi wrapped her arms around herself, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"Michael… we need to find him. Now."
Michael nodded, feeling a tightening in his chest.
"We will. Let's start with the last place he said he was going. He wouldn't just disappear without a reason. We'll find him, Fi. We always do."
Without another word, the three of them headed to the park where Sam said he would be. Once they arrived at the park, and started looking around, there was nothing they could tell until they found black marks from tires and Sam's phone lay partially buried in the dirt, its screen cracked. Fi's eyes widened as she took in the scene.
"I knew…I just knew it!" Fi yelled.
Michael looked at the phone while Jesse looked at the black marks.
"Whatever they were driving its leaking oil." Jesse said.
The three of them got in the car following the trial.