124. Pax
Chapter 124
Pax
I yank at the chains holding me to the bed, ignoring the pain of them cutting into my skin. If I go deep enough to draw blood, maybe I’ll be able to slip my hands free. Or sever an artery. I woke in Rockridge and spent the first two days fighting the guards and patients, as part of the treatment plan my father arranged for me. That second day was the worst of all and a blow to the head knocked me out cold.
The next time I came to, I knew what Thea must’ve felt, because it was clear I was no longer in Rockridge. She burned down the place where they kept her, but the people running it had no problem finding a new base of operations. Or maybe they just have so many places already.
Felix Lazarro is a vile human being, more evil than my father. It’s clear why they’re friends. The room I’m in is nothing more than a sound stage. The furnishings and walls make it look like a bedroom, but the walls don’t extend to the ceiling or enclose on four sides, and there is no hallway behind the door. The faux interior is in a literal cage.
The young girl in the cage behind me tries to muffle her cries. They’ve threatened to speed up her sale if she doesn’t pull herself together. The captive on my right is waiting to be ransomed back to her family. There are others here too. I can’t see them, but I can hear their cries, screams, or the buyer’s laughter, jokes, and demands as they sample the merchandise.
The door to my cage opens and Felix walks in with a nurse. He stands off to the side while the nurse comes forward to check my injuries. When I jerk away from her touch, Felix warns, “She’s trying to help. I lose money if you’re too injured to work.”
“That’s supposed to make me feel bad? I’ll have a shit ton more injuries if I have to fight.”
He steps further into the light, but a part of his face remains obscured by shadows, making his smile seem even more sinister. “Fight? You misunderstand the role you’re here to play. You’re not here to simply fight. The clients pay to do whatever they want to your body. A virile man like you will earn top dollar.”
“You think I’m gonna let you pimp me out?”
“Think?” He cackles. “Let me? Save your indignation. I’ve been pimping you out for years. Only now, I’m offering an upgrade in your services.”
He’s smiling down at me again. “I really thought you’d have figured it out before now, but your ignorance was my bliss. All those jobs you did for the league, seducing secrets and jewels from lonely housewives. You were really working for me.”
“You’re lying. The League contacted my mother with those jobs.”
“Your mother was the liar here. Not me. She knew you’d need the proper motivation to do what we wanted, but we also needed you to keep your mouth shut. She told you the league issued the solo challenges, but you were working for me the entire time.”
“She would never risk her reputation like that.”
“You have no idea what your mother would risk. Has risked. She’s a true visionary and has been my partner in this business for years. Your father has never appreciated her or considered what an asset she could have been. I noticed that drive in her the first time we met.”
Stepping out of the shadows, he says, “In fact, it was her idea to use you after you started with all the tattoos. Her proximity to the wives in town gave her a certain insight into their desires. You gave them the outlet to fulfill their bad boy fantasies.”
He gestures towards the nurse. “My new clients still want that fantasy, but I can’t very well give that to them if you’re too injured to perform.”
“I’d rather die than fuck any of your clients.”
“Death isn’t an option, but extreme pain and torture are. Like I said, my clients have fantasies and some need to inflict pain to get aroused.”
Glancing over to the right, he says to the girl, “You shouldn’t have run, Amaya. I planned to put you in rotation with the other girls, but now I think you’ll need to earn that right in the gauntlet.”
She sobs, “Wha- what’s that?”
“I’m glad you asked. Working for me is a privilege. When people throw my generosity back in my face, they must earn the right to stay employed. Sometimes my buyers bring back the merchandise, but I don’t offer a restock fee, so others can rebid and take them off of the previous owner’s hands. Before that happens, they can request to see the merchandise in action to determine if they’ll be a good match. Since you’re a runner, and will require obedience training, it’s either the gauntlet, or adjusting my asking price.”
“She’s a kid!” I hiss, yanking my hand away from the nurse.
“Her age doesn’t absolve her from her debt.”
I grit my teeth when she sobs, “I’ve never borrowed any money”
“That’s true, but your case worker has, and as part of his repayment terms, he provides me assets to keep my business going.”
“Are you kidding me?” I ask, unable to hide the look of revulsion on my face. “He can’t promise you kids as payment.”
“Why not? She’ll age out of the system in a year and the state isn’t going to put in much of an effort to find her. Same with the unhoused. Nobody’s looking for them.”
He walks back over to the bed, and says, “That’s what makes Rockridge so special. The League locks their undesirables and enemies away and forgets about them. Once they’re flagged for the intensive rehabilitation program, it’s easy pickings for me.”
His phone buzzes. He reads the message with a smile on his face. “My latest acquisition is here. We can get started.” Looking up at me, he says, “I think I’ll add on an extra punishment for you.”
“What’s that? Talking me to death? Telling me my daddy doesn’t love me either?”
“Oh, you already know that. If he gave a shit, you wouldn’t be here. No, I think I’ll give you a seat next to me, and let you watch your favorite contestant fight for her life.”
Finn
Stealing is easy. What’s hard is putting shit back. Or in my case, putting things where they weren’t, and making it seem like they were there all along.
I have Thea to thank for that ingenious idea. We’ve been trying to stay one step ahead of the other prospects and solve the bloodline challenge. That wasn’t getting us any closer to a win, so I started planting snippets of accounting ledgers and fake research notes around the dorms and frat houses.
None of the supposed descendants of the twelve even blinked an eye, but the lower legacy family members have been gossiping. Thanks to my expert sleuthing, I knew there were talks of scheduling an emergency session to address the rumors that entire families were wiped from league records, their history and place in the league, stolen.
I take back all the nasty things I said and thought about the complaining parent coalition. This time, their overall displeasure with everything works in our favor.
I’m standing towards the back of the room with Holden. Eloise arrived a few minutes ago with her league buddies. She scans the crowd and walks over when she sees us. Her brows furrow as she asks, “Where’s Pax?”
“Very funny.”
“I’m not being funny, Finn. Where’s Pax? Everyone has to be here.”
He probably spotted Thea and is stealing a few minutes alone with her, before having to come in here and play pretend. “I can read, just like you can. If he had you walk in ahead of him from the parking lot to avoid the embarrassment of being seen with you, that’s got nothing to do with us.”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t see Pax in the parking lot.”
I flick my hand dismissively. “Restaurant. Whatever.”
“Seriously, Finn. Just tell me where he is.”
“I don’t know. You were with him all day, so why the hell are you asking me?”
“I- I wasn’t with Pax.” She looks to Holden. “He said you three were taking an impromptu road trip, and would be out of cellphone range for a few days.”
Holden asks, “This isn’t a joke? Pax wasn’t with you?”
She shakes her head. “I haven’t seen him in days, and since I haven’t seen either of you at the dorms, I thought you were out of town, like he said you’d be. You really don’t know where he is?”
Holden’s been hanging out at our place since Pax was supposedly busy. “I thought you had contract negotiations every day this week.”
“Mr. Cox cancelled last week, because he was traveling this week for work.” She looks up at the dais and says, “I’m sure he’s happy he could get a flight back in time.”
Holden and I share a look. Malcolm came back to town four days ago, just in time for our mentor prep meetings. Four days ago was the last time I laid eyes on Pax. The rest of our communications were text messages, saying he was with Eloise.
The doors bang closed, The Sergeant at Arms calls the meeting to order, and the ceremony master says, “The history of The League of the Daggered Raven has been documented in our halls, our writings and our stories passed down through generations. In recent weeks, we’ve received several inquiries regarding the validity of the information stored in our archives. Enough so that we have determined a remediation class of league history is needed. To ensure we’re all on the same page, we will be holding the class tonight, during the first half of this meeting. After a short break, we will don our ceremonial attire and re-ratify the votes for transfer of power regarding the members of the original twelve family lines.”
The projectors drop from the ceiling, and a video presentation plays. Someone behind me whispers, “Why was this considered an emergency? They could’ve just sent the video to all of us.”
They could have, but then no one would be here to witness what happens next. Tonight is the culmination of all the work I’ve been doing behind the scenes. I study the body language of the people on the dais. Some look bored, others look nervous, and Malcolm looks downright gleeful. A bad feeling comes over me as I scan the crowd again. It’s become clear to me that Pax isn’t in chambers. Next, I search for blood red tipped streaks in dark hair. That bad feeling balloons into dread. “Holden, have you seen Thea?”