The Nineteenth Year by Jevic, The Tarheel Writer    The Nineteenth Year
by Jevic
The Tarheel Writer
Chapter Sixteen
"The Devil's Snare"

Back to Chapter Fifteen
"Damage Control"
On to Chapter Seventeen
"Mustering the Troops"
Chapter Index

Jevic's Story Page

The Nineteenth Year by Jevic, The Tarheel Writer

Action Adventure
Violence
Sexual Situations
Rated Teen 13+

Proudly presented by The Tarheel Writer - On the Web since 24 February 2003. Celebrating 21 Years on the Internet!

Tarheel Home Page

Sergeant Brown stepped into the bright morning sunshine at the Prague airport. There was a government car waiting for him. The agent, dressed predictably in a dark suit and wearing sunglasses, was almost amusing to the sergeant. He smiled his best sleepy smile and headed for the car. Moments later they were on they way to the American Embassy.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to stop by the hospital before we go to the Embassy," the sergeant said. The sharp look from the agent came as a surprise.

"I have orders to take you straight to the Embassy and nowhere else," the agent said coldly. The agent's demeanor took the sergeant by surprise.

"Is there a problem? You seem a bit, if you'll pardon the word, pissed off." The agent mumbled something to himself. "Excuse me? What did you say?" the sergeant pressed.

"I said I don't like outsiders doing my job," came the cold response.

"Well, if you were doing your job properly, I wouldn't be here," the sergeant shot back. If looks could kill, the sergeant would be dead. The silent tension in the car was palpable. The sergeant looked out the window and watched for a few moments. Then he decided to take a different approach with the agent.

"Look, I know this kid. I know how he thinks. That's why I'm here and not because you can't do your job. And it would be really nice if we could stop by the hospital on the way. It'd look pretty good to walk in the embassy with Daniel, wouldn't it?" The agent seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, and then he broke into a slight grin.

"I guess a little stop on the way wouldn't be out of the question." The sergeant smiled to himself. All those years of interrogating witnesses paid off. He got what he wanted and the other person didn't even realize he'd been played like a cheap violin.

The government vehicle pulled up to the Prague hospital, Na Homolce. The sergeant noted a black Suburban parked in visitor's parking lot as he got out of the car, but made no mention of it. Its presence did however, put the sergeant on guard. He and the agent made their way inside to reception.

"Can you tell me which room Cody Campbell is in please?" the sergeant asked the receptionist, who looked at him as if he were speaking Greek. The agent said something quickly in a language the sergeant didn't recognize.

"He's in intensive care, room 403." Sergeant Brown nodded to the agent and they headed toward the elevator.

"Sorry, all I know is southern drawl," the sergeant chuckled as they entered the elevator.

"I speak seven languages fluently and can translate four more," the agent said casually.

"Brown. Sergeant Howard Brown," the sergeant said as he held out his hand.

"Special Agent Adkins, at your service."

"Thanks, Special Agent Adkins," Howard said mockingly. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"It's Mark," the agent said with a smile. Howard Brown grinned back as the elevator bell "dinged" and they walked out onto the fourth floor. Checking the signs on the wall, Mark directed them toward the nurse's station. Without prompting, Agent Adkins asked the nurse for permission to visit room 403. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. After a quick dialogue, Agent Adkins grabbed Howard by the elbow and headed down the corridor.

"What's wrong?" Howard asked.

"She told me another agent was just here asking for Cody's room number." Howard quickened his pace.

"There's the room, just ahead," Mark said. Both men plowed through the door.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

"Oh, God! Harder!" Teri yelled out.

"I'm trying the best I can," said an exasperated Timmy.

"Well try harder! Shove it! Push!" she screamed back.

"I'm trying!"

"You don't know how to do this!" Teri said almost losing her patience.

"I've loads of experience doing this."

"Well I sure can't tell. You're acting like someone who has no idea what they're doing!"

"Excuse me, but I have months of experience from working at the hotel."

"More than happy to help someone, I assume, as long as they gave you a nice tip."

"I resent that. I was always happy to help a lady in need."

"Then why don't you put some muscle behind it and push harder!"

"There's no way all this shit is gonna fit into your suitcase. There's just no way," Timmy said as he sat down on the bed. "And I've no idea why you're so convinced we're going somewhere. Cody's still in the hospital!" Teri sat down on the bed beside Timmy and wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

"I just have a bad feeling about all this," she said with a deep sigh.

"Darlin',' Timmy said with a matching sigh. "I've had a bad feeling about this for some time." They sat on the edge of the bed and looked at each other for a moment and then broke out into a gentle laugh. They both looked up at the questioning look on the young boy at their bedroom door.

"I thought you two were having sex," the boy said. Teri erupted in laughter.

"Now that you mention it, I guess it kinda sounded like it," Timmy said with a laugh. "So, Remik. Tell us about Stan. All we know is what we've heard from Daniel." Remik's smile evaporated from his face and turned into an uncomfortable frown. Teri moved from the bed and embraced him. He tensed at first, then melted into Teri's firm, reassuring hug. With tears flowing down his face, he told Teri and Timmy of the horrors Stan had put him through to put food on his family's table. The more Remik talked, the madder Timmy got. He swore under his breath that he would not let Stan continue on his rampage. There may be other people like Stan, but Timmy vowed that one of them, the one named Stan, was going down … hard.

As Remik was finishing his story, Dillon walked in with Casey. Teri looked at them and saw the love in their eyes. It was quite a contrast to what she just heard. As she looked at the two boys she couldn't help but see how Casey held Dillon protectively. It was as if he was protecting Dillon from all the evils in the world. With that thought, she turned back to Remik and hugged him even closer.

"What's got you so upset?" Dillon asked Timmy. Dillon's question prompted Teri to look and see the deep frown on Timmy's face.

"We've just heard all about Stan," Timmy said nodding toward Remik. "I know we've heard about him from Daniel, but hearing from someone else has, I don't know, just made me mad all over again." The room was quiet a moment as they were all lost in their own thoughts.

"We should go to the hospital and see how Cody's doing," Dillon said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, have you guys heard anything?" asked Casey.

"No, Daniel left for the hospital about an hour ago, but we haven't heard anything," said Timmy. "Why don't we all head over and see how he's doing?"

"Sounds like a plan," said Teri. The knock on the door caught everyone by surprise. Teri, after a slight moment of hesitation, headed for the door. After looking through the peephole, she swung the door open. The woman on the other side of the door quickly surveyed the occupants of the room and quickly settled on a slight boy with tight fitting pants.

"Remik!" she screamed as she ran into the room scooping the boy up into her arms. The rest of her dialogue was lost to the other occupants of the room as she continually screamed his name and held him in a bone crushing embrace.

"Looks like mama found her boy," chuckled Casey. The others smiled and nodded.

Remik talked rapidly with the woman then turned to his new friends. There were tears in his eyes as he explained.

"This is my mama," he started, wrapping his arm around the woman. "She has come to take me home. Papa is too ashamed to see me. He … he wants me to come home. Mama has, ah, well, she has told Papa that I am not going to do this work anymore." Remik turned to his mama and spoke quickly in Slavic. She quickly moved around the room and hugged everyone there.

"My mama is very thankful for everyone here taking care of me. She can not understand why foreign people would take me and protect me." Teri walked up to Remik and embraced him.

"It's because we know someone who has been through what you have been through and we don't wish that would happen to anyone." Remik's mama turned to her son and questioned him with a look only a mama could give. He quickly translated. She turned to Teri, with her eyes full of tears, and slowly walked over and embraced Teri tightly. She spoke softly in Slavic. Even though the strange words passed over everyone's ears, the emotion behind the words transcended the translation. Remik looked at Teri with tears in his eyes and translated.

"She says that every boy on the street has a mama that worries; that boys should be boys. Working like this to make money for the family is unthinkable. Going to bed hungry is much better than knowing your own flesh and blood is doing something so unthinkable to put food on the table. She begs each of you to understand." Teri moved and put her arm around the small woman. She looked up at the American, wrapped her arms around Teri and sobbed.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Daniel stared incredulously at the man in the dark suit. The grin on the man's face was disturbing, but the large gun the man held in his hand was terrifying. Daniel started to think through his options and quickly discovered they were very limited. He glanced over at Cody who was equally terrified.

"There won't be any trouble," the man started, still grinning, "as long as you cooperate." Then the man's smile turned into a frown. "Things can get ugly real fast if you don't."

"Show me some ID," Daniel demanded. The agent was not amused. Slowly he reached beneath his coat and pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

"After you have these on, I'll be glad to show you my ID," he said threateningly. Daniel turned to face the man square on. The memories of the kidnapping by the agents and the torture they had inflicted on Jevan came back to his mind with crystal clarity. That was a situation he didn't want to find himself in. Looking the agent over, he knew he could disarm him, but in the process he might further injure Cody. That was not an option. He could wait until they were outside of Cody's room, but wearing handcuffs would put him at a severe disadvantage. Either way, there was the possibility of someone getting hurt. In the end, Daniel decided that protecting Cody was more important than anything else. He sighed deeply.

"OK, you win, but nothing happens to Cody. Understand?" The agent looked over at Cody and smiled.

"Oh, I don't think you need to worry about your little boyfriend. He looks like he's not going anywhere anytime soon. There's plenty of time to deal with him later." Daniel recognized the tone of disgust in the agent's voice. The fear of finally being caught was quickly replaced by a raging anger.

"If he's hurt in any way, I hunt you down like a dog and you'll regret ever living."

"Strong words for a fag," the agent smirked.

"They're not just words," Daniel said as he stared into the agent's eyes unblinking.

The agent frowned and his face grew red with anger. He cocked the hammer back on his pistol.

"Just so you understand, I have orders to bring you in. Those orders didn't specify whether or not you should be breathing."

As the words left the agent's mouth, the door came crashing open knocking the agent into the wall. The pistol went off on impact. The bullet screamed across the room, barely missed Daniel's head, zipped through one of Cody's IV's and slammed into the heart monitor sending out a shower of sparks. The two men that crashed through the door quickly subdued the agent. Daniel sprang like a cat toward the door. As he fled he was surprised to see Sergeant Brown looking back at him and, for a moment, he paused at the door.

"Daniel, wait!" the sergeant pleaded.

"If anything happens to Cody, I hold you personally responsible," Daniel said in a tone that was not to be questioned. He glanced over at Cody, gave him a quick smile, then disappeared into the hall.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Stan Bouchard raced his Audi TT through the streets of Prague. Traffic lights didn't matter. The thought of a traffic stop never entered his mind. The tires squealed as he careened down the boulevard. Stan was pissed. No, he was mad. His anger overtook his normal sense of self-preservation. The silver sports car screeched to a stop. He looked over at the car beside him. It was a typical family … father, mother, daughter and son. The father gave him a haughty look then turned his attention back to the light. Stan couldn't help himself as he lowered his window.

"Hey!" he yelled out. The father looked back briefly, but ignored him. That made Stan even madder.

"Hey!" he screamed out. The electric window on the driver's side of the Mercedes lowered and the father looked at Stan arrogantly. "How much for your boy?" Stan yelled. "I wanna have sex with your son." The man's face twisted into an expression that can only be described as total and complete disgust. The driver's side window immediately started to rise. "I wanna fuck his cute little ass!" Stan screamed. The huge Mercedes screamed out into the intersection and disappeared around the corner. Stan laughed out loud and rammed his foot down in the accelerator. The powerful sports car bolted into the intersection, just missed an oncoming car and raced down the boulevard following the Mercedes.

"I am totally out of control," Stan said to himself. Then he laughed out loud. "But who cares!" he yelled out the window. The Mercedes came to a stop at the next intersection. Stan slid the Audi to a stop in front of the car, effectively cutting off its escape. He jumped out of the car.

"I want your son!" he yelled. The father got of the car and cocked his fist, but Stan was quick. He slammed his fist into the father's face and knocked him to the ground. Moving quickly, he jerked the back door open and grabbed the young boy, dragging him from the car. Ignoring the boy's screams, Stan shoved the young teenager into the Audi and slammed the door shut. He turned back to the father, who was wiping blood from his nose.

"I'm taking your boy. I'm gonna fuck him then I'm gonna slit his throat," Stan screamed, but then he composed himself a bit. "Have a nice evening." He jumped into the Audi and tore off down the boulevard laughing like a madman.

The boy cowered in the passenger seat openly sobbing. Stan gently caressed the boy' soft blond hair. Stan's rage eased.

"How old are you?" he asked gently. The boy looked at him with fright filled eyes. Stan slowly gripped the boy's hair tightly in his hand. "How old are you?" he demanded.

"T-thirteen," the boy stammered.

"Look at me!" Stan demanded. The boy tentatively looked up. "I'm the devil. I want to do things to you that you could never imagine but, ya know what? I'm feeling generous tonight." Stan slammed on the brakes and pulled the Audi to the curb. "Get out!" he yelled. "Get out!" The boy opened the door and all but fell out of the car. Stan reached over and pulled the door shut. He quickly lowered the window and looked at the boy on the sidewalk. "Your parents love you," he said to the boy softly. "Even though you think they don't, they do. Your father tried to protect you. Your mother and sister are worried about you. What's important to remember about tonight is that there are evil men in this world … and you're looking at one right now." Stan took a deep breath. "Stay safe young man." Then he rammed his foot down on the accelerator and the Audi screamed into the night.

"What the hell am I doing?" Stan said out loud. He whipped his Audi TT around a corner and slowed to a crawl. It was a neighborhood he knew well. This was the area of Prague where money could buy pleasure and for Stan, it was the area where he always found a young boy willing to do anything to make money and to be in the movies. The pain in Stan's shoulder still caused him to wince from time to time, but he overlooked it. Right now he needed … company … company that was willing. The expensive sports car drew the attention of the boys working the street. They all saw dollar signs, but Stan saw something else. He saw things from a different perspective. He saw things from an evil perspective. As the looked at the boys along the street, he saw purity. He saw not-yet-street-hardened innocence. He saw … opportunity. In Stan's mind, the boys were just objects. They weren't real human beings. They didn't have brothers or sisters or mothers or fathers. They were just play toys … and Stan wanted to play … rough. It was Danny that evoked the evil, Stan told himself. That little brat who so long ago had almost ruined him was still haunting his mind. Stan knew it was all about revenge, but he didn't care. It surrounded him and consumed him. He was possessed with a single goal in life … to bring as much pain and suffering to Daniel Simon as possible. If he couldn't bring that pain and suffering to Daniel directly, he'd bring it to a substitute. The Audi TT came to a stop as a cute young boy walked over to the window.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Daniel ran out the front doors of the hospital and didn't even slow down. His legs carried him to the sidewalk where he took a quick turn to the right. Blazing down the sidewalk at top speed, he was determined to put as much distance between him and the hospital as possible. Daniel was never one to run away from trouble, but when trouble came packing a forty-five automatic, a pair of handcuffs and a cattle prod, it was time to beat feet, post-haste! As he ran, one question kept nagging … what was Sergeant Brown doing in Prague? One thing he did know was that Cody would be all right. They weren't about to take him from the hospital, given the shape he was in. Anyway, they didn't want Cody, they wanted him. They didn't want his friends either. Suddenly, the thought of his friends brought Daniel to an abrupt stop on the sidewalk. He had to warn them. Sure, the agents didn't want them, but Daniel knew they would use his friends to get to him. That was something he could not and would not allow. Daniel glanced around and realized he had no idea where he was. After a brief panic, he felt his cell phone in his pocket. Fishing it out, he dialed quickly.

"Hello," said Teri.

"Sergeant Brown is at the hospital!" Daniel screamed into the phone.

"What?!?"

"That cop from back home was in Cody's room! I barely got away!"

"Oh my God! Daniel, where are you?"

"I don't know. I just ran out of there as fast as I could."

"We're in the parking lot and were just about to go inside."

"Don't go!"

"Daniel …"

"Teri, they might use one of my friends to get to me. Please don't go inside."

"OK, but where are you?" Daniel glanced at the street sign.

"I dunno, some street spelled W-e-b-e-r-o-v-a. I can't pronounce this shit!" Daniel said with ever growing frustration in his voice.

"What are you near?"

"I'm TOO near the hospital! Damn it, Teri!"

"Daniel," she said in a voice that immediately calmed him. "Just get a cab and meet us back at the hotel."

"That'd be simple enough if I could explain to the driver where I wanted to go!"

"Show him your room key," Teri suggested calmly.

"He'll think I wanna go fuck!" Teri couldn't help herself and busted out laughing. "This isn't funny!" Daniel yelled in the phone angrily, but with a small smile creeping across his face.

"You could always blow him off once you get to the hotel," Teri said snickering.

"You're sick, ya know that?"

"Just get a cab and we'll see you back at the hotel."

"OK."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Stan smiled to himself as he put the cell phone frequency scanner down on his car seat. As soon as he heard the street name, the Audi TT started screaming toward it. He'd just finished dumping the boy's body in a dumpster when he decided to scan for active conversations. It was sheer dumb luck that he happened across the conversation between Daniel and Teri. Stan downshifted and threw the car into a sharp curve then rapidly worked up through the gears as he grew ever closer to the brat that had once again made it to the top of his most hated list.

As he drove, a plan started to formulate in his mind. All he'd have to do is get Daniel to lean into the window. The bottle of ether was already in the glove box with a handkerchief. If he could just get the kid to lean into the window, he'd have him.

Stan screamed his Auto TT onto Weberova then rapidly slowed. He scanned the sidewalk like an Eagle. This was the break he was looking for. All the years of hatred … all the years of dreaming of revenge … all the years of wanting nothing more than to squeeze the very life out of the boy that had caused him so much trouble … were about to come to an end. All he had to do was find that little brat, convince him to stick his head into the window and it would be all over. No more Mister Nice Guy. No more playing the game. It was time to bring it all to a close … and if he could get it all on videotape, he'd make a ton of cash to boot.

The blond hair on the sidewalk grabbed his attention like a shark attracted to blood. Stan grabbed the ether and handkerchief and then smoothly pulled the car to the side of the road and lowered the passenger window. The blond headed boy was blissfully unaware of the danger parked at the curb.

"There are other ways to get to your hotel than cabs," Stan said smoothly, but loud enough for Daniel to hear. The blond hair swished in the sunlight and blue eyes locked onto the dull gray eyes of Stan Bouchard. The look of surprise was quickly replaced with a look of disgust.

"So, ya wanna go party?" Stan said with a laugh. Daniel glanced up and down the sidewalk. ""I can put you in the movies and make you famous," Stan said with a smirk.

"You've already done that," Daniel said in a menacingly low voice.

"Well, ya can't expect me to give up. You were my star. You made me lots of money, but then you decided to run away. Didn't you like all those cute boys I brought in to fuck you?" Without thinking, Daniel leaned into the window of the car.

"You are a sick bastard. You killed Timmy for the fun of it."

"Oh come now, Danny. Timmy's film made me hundreds of thousands of dollars. And your film is gonna make me even more." Before Daniel had time to react, Stan's hand grabbed him by the back of his neck. Daniel's face was quickly covered by a white cloth … soaked in something that closed down Daniel's consciousness. He fought the feeling with all his strength, but the drug was much too powerful. Without even a second glance from the people on the sidewalk, Stan dragged Daniel's unconscious body into the car.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Sergeant Brown watched as Agent Adkins handcuffed the rogue agent. Mark was not being very nice and he roughly tightened the cuffs around the man's wrists.

"Ow! That hurts," the man complained.

"Shut up," Mark said sharply. "It's people like you who make my job harder. Why you insist on being an asshole is beyond me. Just be glad there's witnesses here, 'cause if they weren't here, well, let's just say your screams would …"

"I think he gets the message," Sergeant Brown said as he watched the front of the man's trousers turn dark. The urine ran out onto the floor and pooled at the man's feet.

"Fucker! Now you've made a mess!" Agent Mark Adkins screamed as he slammed the rogue agent against the wall. "I've heard the stories," Mark said through clenched teeth. "I know what your buddies did with the cattle prod." The man's face turned ashen. "It's a long ride back to the embassy. I just hope you're up for the ride," Mark said with a sneer. The man's face turned pasty white and suddenly there was a foul odor in the room.

"Mark, just take him out of here. Remember, we're the good guys. Don't use the cattle prod. He's already pissed himself and now you've made him shit. Just get him out of here, OK?" Mark smiled back at Sergeant Brown.

"I'm sorry for being such an ass earlier. I just didn't believe that some of our own were capable of the things I've heard about. Now, after seeing this asshole, gun drawn and ready to kill, I believe it all. I'll send a car for you." Mark grabbed the man by his arm and pushed him out the door. The room was suddenly filled with nurses and hospital security people. It took Sergeant Brown a good half hour to calm everyone down and explain what happened, with the help of a cute young nurse that spoke "Southern Drawl."

Cody took it all in stride, but was worried sick about his boyfriend. He rested quietly in his bed as nurses worked feverishly to replace the heart monitor, clean up the broken glass and the urine on the floor and to return the room to proper order. One of the first things they did after making sure he was OK was to add something to his IV bag that made him feel sleepy.

"Cody? Cody?" He blinked his eyes, but everything was fuzzy. "Cody, it's Sergeant Brown. Can you hear me?" Cody turned in the direction of the voice, but the blurry figure didn't look familiar. "Cody, you've got to tell me where Daniel is."

"Daniel?" Cody slurred. A nurse walked into the room.

"How long before the sedative wears off?" he asked. She looked at him, smiled and checked Cody's vital signs. "I said, how long before the sedative wears off?" he asked again, getting somewhat frustrated. The nurse once again smiled and then spoke to the sergeant in Slavic. Sergeant Brown ran his hands through his hair and sighed a frustrated sigh.

"Where's that cute young nurse who speaks my language?"

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Teri quickly filled her friends in on what was going on. The trip back to the hotel was virtually silent as each one of them were caught up in their own thoughts. The cab weaved in and out of traffic as it made its way toward the hotel.

Casey's arm was wrapped around Dillon's shoulders. He held his boyfriend in a protective embrace, but his mind was wondering about Daniel. The cute young blond American had, at first, intrigued Casey. Anyone capable of successfully talking Captain Mitchell into lying had to be pretty good. Casey thought back about the details of the story he had been told. He thought about the CNN television report about the flood. Not being able to help himself, tears came to his eyes as he thought about his friend Charlie.

Timmy was just about beside himself. He was worried about Daniel, but he was more worried about Teri. She put up a strong front, but she really needed someone to hold her and tell her everything would be all right. Timmy had his arm wrapped tightly around her. She leaned into his embrace and Timmy could feel the sobs as Teri clung tightly to him. Whoever this Stan dude was, whoever this Sergeant Brown was, whoever it was that kidnapped Dillon's father, they would all pay dearly. The anger simmered just beneath the surface as Timmy held on to the person who had become the center of his universe.

Dillon's mind was racing. Daniel and Cody's safety was certainly important, but Dillon was still worried about his parents. The ringing of Dillon's cell phone interrupted the silence inside the cab.

"Hello."

"Dillon, thank God!" came the voice over the phone. Dillon knew immediately who it was.

"Dad! Are you OK? Where's mom? Please tell me everything's OK!"

"Everything's just fine, Dillon. Your mother and I are just fine."

"Oh thank God! I was so worried!"

"Everything's fine now son, but we're worried about Daniel. Is he all right?"

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Cody's sleep was restless. His dreams were physical … wild and evil physically. Throughout the night he abruptly woke in a cold sweat. Something wasn't right. Something was terribly wrong, but Cody couldn't put his finger on it. He only knew, with all of his heart, that something was wrong. He glanced up at the clock and saw that it was 4:23AM. He hated to bother anyone at that time, but his dreams persisted. Taking a deep sigh, he reached for the phone and dialed the hotel. It seemed to take forever, but finally someone answered the phone. Cody asked for the room and was quickly transferred through. Once again the phone rang and rang.

"Hello," came the sleepy voice.

"It's Cody, who's this?"

"Oh, hey, Cody. It's Dillon. What time is it?"

"It's like four-thirty."

"What's wrong? Are you OK?"

"I'm fine, but I'm worried about Daniel. Have you heard from him?"

"No we haven't. Not a word. We're worried too, but we don't know what to do. We've tried his cell phone, but it goes straight to voice mail."

"Dillon, there's something terribly wrong."

"Sure is," Dillon said with a huge yawn.

"Dillon, listen to me! Daniel is in trouble!"

"How do you know that?" Dillon asked, still yawning.

"I just know! Damn it! Listen to me! Get Teri on the phone. I really need to talk to Teri."

"Oh, OK, sure. Hang on a sec." Cody listened intently in the phone. A few curse words later, Teri came on the line.

"What the hell, Cody?" It's fuckin' almost five in the morning!"

"Daniel is in trouble!"

"What?!?!"

"He's in trouble, Teri. Maybe even more trouble than ever before."

"How do you know?"

"I've had dreams, Teri. Terrible dreams. I just know that Daniel is in trouble. You've got to believe me!" Cody pleaded. Teri took a deep breath.

"The last we heard from Daniel is that he was going to meet us at the hotel. He didn't show up, but that doesn't mean he's in trouble."

"Teri. Daniel is in way over his head. He needs help. His very life depends on the decisions we make in the next few minutes."

"Cody, nothing personal, but …"

"Then call Sergeant Brown! I've got his number!" Cody pleaded. Teri sighed deeply. She was worried about Daniel too, but what in the hell could be done at five in the morning? "Never mind! I'll call him myself." The click in Teri's ear rousted her into action. In less than five minutes she had everyone gathered.

"Daniel is in trouble," she announced. Timmy, Casey and Dillon blinked back at her with half-awake nods. "He needs us right now, but we don't know where he is. Any ideas?"

"Yeah, I think we should go back to sleep," said Dillon who had been woken up a second time.

"Unacceptable!" Teri yelled, getting everyone's attention. She sighed a deep sigh and continued. "Cody thinks that Stan has him." Every eye in the room looked at her. "We've got to figure out a way to locate him. I wish we had a homing beacon on something!" Timmy's eyes flashed as his mind engaged into gear.

"We've got just that, luv!" Teri looked at him with love in her heart but skepticism in her eyes. "He's got a cell phone. All we have to do is set up a reception net, call the number and we'll have his location pegged!"

"A location net?" Teri asked.

"Yeah, but that's something only the police could have," Timmy said sadly.

"Sergeant Brown!" Teri screamed out in glee. "He'd have a reception net thingy! And I have his number!"

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

There are some things in this world that are better not known. Waking up with your hands and feet restrained is one of those things no one should have to experience. Daniel's head was pounding. Despite the pain, he surveyed the room. He was bound tightly to an X shaped frame of wood. He glanced down and saw that he was completely naked. Glancing back up he saw a video camera pointed directly at him. Looking toward the door on the far side of the room, he saw the devil himself walk in.

"It's a live feed to the Internet," Stan's voice said merrily. "I've already got a hundred paying customers just waiting for the fun to begin."

"You sick fuck!" Daniel yelled.

"Danny, Danny, Danny. You had so much potential," Stan said as he shook his head. "What was it? What was it that made you run away? I know you had fun with all those cute boys. Was it big fat ugly men I brought in?" Stan walked up close and looked Daniel in the eye. "Did you have a problem with them screwing your sweet little ass? Is that it?" Daniel spat in Stan's face. Stan reached up and wiped it off, still smiling. "Those men paid a lot of money for a chance with you. A lot! I was just beginning to get financially comfortable when you decided to bolt! You took all that away from me!" Stan's face grew redder as he ranted at Daniel. "It's all your fault!" Stan screamed. He raised his hand and slapped Daniel hard across the face. The sting instantly brought tears to Daniel's eyes. "Now you're gonna pay. Timmy had it easy, but you … you're gonna suffer. You're gonna feel the pain I've felt all these years."

"Let me go!" Daniel yelled.

"Go ahead and yell all you want. I chose not to include audio in this feed. There were several customers who wanted to hear your screams, but I told them they'd have to buy the DVD and they quickly agreed. After all, it's not everyday that someone gets to see a snuff film live on the Internet." Fear didn't even enter into Daniel's mind. It was filled with rage and he violently pulled at his restraints. "That's right, Danny boy. Give the paying customers what they want." Stan pulled out a bullwhip. He caressed it softly. "Tonight is our night, Danny. It's a night that should have happened way back when. Timmy was pretty good. He screamed a lot, but in the end he just kinda whimpered." Daniel's stomach did a couple of back flips. He remembered finding the underwear soaked in blood. He remembered the feeling of loss, knowing that Timmy was never coming back. No more cheery smile. No more positive attitude. It was all taken away by the man who stood before him holding a leather whip. The first slash across his chest almost took his breath away. The pain seared leaving a sadistic red mark. Daniel couldn't help but scream out in pain. "Oh yeah, this is gonna be good," Stan said smiling. "Real good."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *


On to Chapter Seventeen
"Mustering the Troops"

Back to Chapter Fifteen
"Damage Control"

Chapter Index

Jevic's Story Page

I'd love to hear what you think!
Email me at jevic@tarheelwriter.com


The Nineteenth Year is © 2008 by The Tarheel Writer.
    This work may not be duplicated in any form – physical, electronic, audio, or otherwise – without the author's written permission. All applicable copyright laws apply. All individuals depicted are fictional with any resemblance to real persons being purely coincidental.


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