14 Months 01: Halloween

Prologue: Lucky Thirteen

The large dining hall was empty apart from the group of thirteen boys Darius was seated with around one table. There seemed to be nothing particularly outstanding about any one of them to mark them as special or more deserving of the scholarship than himself or the guys he had applied with who weren't sitting here with him. He'd been told he'd shown potential, whatever that meant, and he guessed these guys had as well. That potential was why they were here taking the scholarship to this exclusive academy along with him.

Darius tried for a relaxed uncaring façade as he leaned back in his chair arms folded loosely over his chest. Most of the other boys he realised, were also trying and in most cases failing not to look wide-eyed and bewildered by the sheer size and opulence of the school dining hall. It was evident to anyone who looked close enough that they were all way out of their comfort zones. Several boys constantly talked about random topics, seeming to be unable to help the nervous stream of words that fell from their mouths. Others sat silently, taking in everything not willing to disclose their happiness or apprehension about being chosen to be here instead of remaining in the foster or juvenile detention system.

One of the first to arrive, Darius had the advantage of seeing the other boys come in, and take a seat at the table indicated. Of the twelve other boys, he had already memorised their names and the town they had called home before arriving here. He knew that each boy had applied, some through coercion, and then had gone through the required medical and mental testing to further their applications the same as he had. Also, like him, they had each received an invitation and paid for travel arrangements to bring them and all of their worldly possessions to this place. Most of the boys were able to fit everything they owned into one small backpack, just like him.

The one thing they all had in common, although Darius wasn't sure the other boys realised it or not, was that they were all orphans. He almost had a handle on which of the boys were in the system because their parents were negligent, delinquent or addicts, others through losing their family to tragic accidents. Each had suffered through circumstances beyond their control, and they all bore the visible as well as invisible scars of their harsh early childhoods. Darius himself said nothing, giving little away about his past. There were perhaps two others who, like himself, sat back, listening and watching the others.

The boys fell silent as four men entered the dining hall and walked toward them. Darius sat up realising that for good or bad, these men were in control of his future now, and he paid attention to every detail of each of the men as he had done with the other boys. The men were all impeccably groomed and wore a fine dark suit tailored to fit strong athletic builds. They walked with the confidence and breeding of men who had wealth and power at their fingertips. Darius had seen men like them before and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He knew at that moment that he would work and be just like them when he graduated, and the thought of wielding that kind of wealth and power excited him more than anything had in a very long time.

Coming to stand at the head of the table the men of the Alliance surveyed each boy one by one and Darius looked them in the eye as they judged whether he would survive to become part of the world they occupied.

"Good evening, gentlemen, I am Professor Henry Halberd. I have taken a visiting position at this school as have my colleagues, to enable us to mentor you during your time here," Henry informed the boys in a voice that while not raised seemed to fill the room just as the men's commanding presence did. "We hope that at least half of you will graduate and join our organisation. We are each highly respected for our skill in our fields of expertise," He glanced as his brothers as he spoke. While he and his brothers had highly visible public personas, it was what they accomplished in the shadows beyond the public gaze that held them apart from other men. They were the hunters and protectors. They were Alliance men.

"Gentlemen, I am Steven Spear. You have each been offered a place at this fine institution of learning on a specialised scholarship because you show potential. Potential that we believe, with the correct guidance, could make you men to be reckoned with, in the years to come. I am looking forward to working with some, if not all, of you," Steven introduced himself.

"Michael Mace," the third man said gruffly. "Make no mistake Gentlemen being here is a privilege and not one of us will hesitate to send you back to where you came from if you do not follow the rules, we have set out for you. We will not tolerate disrespect, disloyalty or dishonour. The consequences should you test us on any of those things will be swift and long-lasting. I can assure you."

"So, it falls to me, I am Andrew Arrowhead," the last man in the group said with a smile at the boys. "As Spear said, you are all here because you have shown potential to become not just good men but great men within our mentorship program. In your dorm room, you will each find uniforms and clothes tailored to your needs. You will work hard, study harder and engage in at least two if not more of the sporting and club activities offered by this school. You will be observed closely to ensure you are taking advantage of every opportunity to enhance your strengths and overcome your weaknesses. We will receive weekly updates on your progress, and you will meet with your mentor as often as needed to ensure you are not squandering the potential we have seen in each of you."

"We understand that not everyone is academically gifted nor athletically minded. However we do expect that you will work to the best of your ability while you are here," Henry added during a pause in Andrews speech.

"As you progress through the next five year levels, you will be given guidance in subject choices and future career pathways. That is not to say we will choose for you or force you to follow our chosen paths, but we will suggest the pathway that will help you to achieve your full potential," Andrew finished as another man hurried into the hall to stand with his brothers.

"Sorry, I'm late gentlemen. A last-minute emergency you know how it goes. I'm Byron Blade. I will help these other fine gentlemen to mentor you," he said in a cheerful voice and smiled at the wide-eyed boys. "I see you have put the fear of God into them before they have even unpacked," he chuckled to his friends. "Be respectful, responsible, safe and above all be a learner while you are here. You can make mistakes, but you must learn from them if only to know not to make the same mistake twice, and all will be well." Mace groaned and rolled his eyes at Byron, making a few of the boys giggle softly.

"You will all be in the east wing of the dormitory. Each room sleeps two to three. As none of you has met before today, we have sorted you into the rooms randomly, and your assigned room will stay that way until the end of the term, at the beginning of each new term you will have the opportunity to negotiate a change of roommates if needed." Henry stated as if challenging an argument from them. "If you will follow Mr Butler, he will show you to the east wing and your assigned rooms for the evening."

"One moment," Steven said loudly over the noise of chairs scraping out from the table as the boys stood to follow the indicated man, "Jayce Cooper?" he called a name out.

"Yes, Sir?" a warbling voice answered, making Steven wonder whether it was from puberty or nervousness.

"Happy thirteenth birthday, son. You are the oldest of your new brothers, congratulations," Steven said. "You will find a gift on your bed, enjoy it, please. Now you may go." He waved the boys away in a shooing motion.

"Did they eat already?" Byron asked.

"Yes, before we arrived to introduce ourselves," Henry replied. "Where's Dagger?"

"He'll be here in the morning," Byron said. "Last minute shit at the club. I think we are going to have to do something decisive about the senator. We've let him believe he is untouchable, invincible even, for far too long."

"Shit," Michael spat. "Maybe they all need a reminder, and he could be the high-profile example we need to make sure everyone understands mistakes happen once or twice, but more than that is deliberate stupidity!"

"That not our decision to make now," Henry said quietly. "The next five years of our lives need to be dedicated to finding the potential in these boys. Tell Dave to let the Knights handle it and get here tonight."

Darius heard every word of the hushed conversation as he lingered behind the other boys not caring about who he would have as a roommate. These men were the ones he had to know. He had survived his childhood by knowing his enemy well, and that wouldn't stop just because he had come to this school far from the people who had made his life a living hell so far. They had got one thing right, though. He would take advantage of every opportunity they offered while it suited him to stay in this place.

*****

Two decades later.

Holidays always brought out the freaks, Sophie thought as she made her way up to the dingy room, she called home. A double bed made the small room crowded, and she edged her way around it to the old wooden cupboard with its single set of small drawers. She removed her underwear and took some fresh white cottontails from the drawer. She got the whole sexy school girl costume she had been given for the party downstairs but the last client she had given a private show for had taken the role-playing to a whole new level. He had berated her for being a naughty girl working in a place like this and had spanked her while finger fucking her to orgasm, insisting that she call him Daddy as she begged him for more. He may have been a freak, and more like the foster father she had run from for her liking, but she had to admit, much to her shame that it was one of the best orgasms she had ever had with a client since starting to work for Michelle.

She sighed and touched up her makeup one last time before returning to the club floor, and the woman who had found her on the streets then offered her work and a safe place to live while she got her shit together and saved some money. She looked in the mirror, the heavy makeup and brightly coloured streaks in her hair made her look like a clown, but the other girls had insisted it made her look young and wild. With her diminutive stature and she was every old perv's fantasy according to them. She wished she wasn't so short and that her breasts were fuller, but she at least had hips and a decent ass. Her type just seemed to invite the freaks who wanted her to call them Daddy while they punished her in some way as if she hadn't gotten enough of that before leaving her foster home.

Months spent surviving on the streets had been more than she needed to accept Michelle's offer of a job in this club. She began as a waitress and moved into stripping when she saw the tips the dancers received. From there it was a very slippery slope, and with the encouragement of Michelle, the stripping which seemed so innocent to her now had rapidly moved to lap dances and eventually paid sex for certain clientele. She had hardly felt the progression down that path, because the truth was, she liked sex. The more she experienced, on her own terms, the more she liked it. For her, sex was more than the euphoria of orgasm when she was lucky enough to be with someone who cared whether she came or not. She liked the fleeting feeling of bringing someone else pleasure. Even if she was only the faceless hot, wet hole they used, she chose to believe she held power over them and their pleasure at least for a little while. Particularly when giving a blow job.

The first man to teach her about the power of giving in to the desires of the men who wanted her was her foster father. Not that her foster father had allowed her to keep that illusion more than a moment after he came. Instead, he degraded and humiliated her for enjoying being treated like a whore. It was a head trip. No matter how much she tried to avoid him, he cornered her at every opportunity, then would punish and hurt for being so available and tempting as if she wasn't trying to avoid him. Still, when she looked back, she could see that he kept her close because he was afraid that she would tell someone what he was doing to her all the while telling her that no one would believe her. Eventually, when he had beaten her badly enough to need medical treatment, the doctors reported the abuse and just as he said, her caseworker chose to believe his story that she was a wild child who hung out with gangs rather than believe that such a pillar of the community was abusing a child he had fostered.

Shaking her head to dispel the dark thoughts, Sophie pasted on her brightest smile as she re-entered the club and nodded at the security man near the door as she passed through. She headed in the general direction of the main bar to find out if she was working the floor or a pole, but she was halted before she went more than ten steps.

"It's true! You look just like her," the man hissed the exclamation barely loud enough for her to hear as he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. "I didn't believe it when Roddy told me but look at you. You could be her twin." He reached up and grabbed her roughly by the hair. "You're coming with me," he growled and began to walk, but by then security had noticed the altercation or at least heard her cry out when he had fisted her hair.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Sophie spat, trying to move her head to look around for the security and wincing at his hold on her hair. "No one is going to let you take me out of here."

"Let her go," came the booming voice of Gavin, the head of security who had moved in from his position at the door. When the man didn't immediately comply, Gavin wrenched his hand from her hair making her topple backwards to the floor and pulled it behind the man's back force marching him in that position to the front of the club. Sophie slowly got to her feet, rubbing at the nape of her neck where it felt like he had ripped out her hair and watched the man yelling and fighting against Gavin's hold.

"You don't understand," the man cried out and struggled against the hold on him, but his words were cut off by a punch to the face, and he was ejected from the club.

"Sophie. Sweetheart," Michelle said in a tone that was saccharine sweet and approached her quickly before she could move too far toward the door leading back to the rooms upstairs. "You're quite the popular girl tonight," she whispered into her ear and took her arm, leading her towards the back room where her office lay amongst the stock rooms. "Come with me, and we'll fix your hair. There is someone I want you to meet."

Sophie frowned but said nothing as they moved through the club and down a single flight of stairs, she realised they were heading past Michelle's office. She went back over everything that had occurred already that night and couldn't think of a reason she would be fired or even reprimanded unless Michelle thought she had encouraged that guy to make a scene like that on the club's main floor.

"You're throwing me out?" Sophie gasped in astonishment as the rear door loomed large before them.

"That depends entirely on what happens next, now be a good girl and stay quiet," Michelle hissed and opened the rear door where a dark SUV had parked close in the dimly lit alley.

"She is as lovely as I was led to believe," a man stepped from the rear of the car into the alleyway as soon as they exited the club. "Certain changes would have to be made of course but nothing too drastic. Get in the car girl," He said in an authoritarian tone while waving Michelle away with his free hand.

"She belongs to me," Michelle sneered, gripping Sophie's arm hard enough to make her wince. "We had a deal."

Sophie couldn't work out what was happening, but she knew she didn't want to be here. She looked over her shoulder towards the club door, and real fear entered her mind as she saw the two large men standing there blocking the way back. She looked back towards the man who had spoken to her and was now scowling at Michelle. The man beside him pulled a small leather case from beneath his jacket and opened it, showing the contents to Michelle.

Sophie gasped. Even to her inexperienced mind, that was a lot of money, thousands if not tens of thousands. Her stomach roiled as she came to grips with what was happening and tried to calculate how long she would have to stay with this client for that amount of money. It was only at that moment that she realised how very wrong all of this was. A man in an expensive suit was a bit of a joke in this rundown warehouse district and the club it serviced. She couldn't remember the last time she saw a man in a suit that spoke of money and privilege like this man. She swallowed nervously, her body trembling slightly and said nothing as he peered down at her and stroked her cheek gently with the back of his hand while Michelle inspected the case with the money.

Suddenly Michelle loosened her grip on Sophie and pushed her toward the man. He immediately took her by the arm as Michelle had done and pulled her toward the car.

"Wait, I don't want to go. Can't we stay here, I have a room upstairs," Sophie blurted trying to dig her heels in rather than get into the car. Her voice was becoming shrill as panic threatened to overwhelm her. "Michelle, don't do this. I don't want to do this!"

"No, girl. You don't have a room here. Not anymore," the man said in the same authoritarian tone. "John," he nodded at another man, and before she could turn to see who he had spoken to, the prick of a needle in her shoulder made her cry out.

"Michelle? What's happening?" Sophie cried out half turning to try and find the woman, but Michelle had returned to the rear door of the club. Her eyes widened as before Michelle could answer her a large hand clamped over the older woman's mouth and the glint of steel shone in the dim street light. There was a muffled scream followed by another as Sophie froze in terror, but before she could scream herself a hand clamped over her mouth and she was picked up and carried the last few steps to the car.

"If you scream, I will gag you," a voice hissed in her ear as she was practically thrown onto the back seat of the car. Her mind refused to process anything beyond that. Her body felt heavy, and even though she wanted to struggle, to fight, she could barely move her heavy limbs.

"Who are you? What's happening?" Sophie slurred, finding it difficult to speak as her body became even heavier, and she had to fight to keep her eyes open.

"Sleep little one. You are safe now. Tomorrow we will talk," Darius said and reached out to stroke her hair. That wasn't how he wanted their first meeting to go, but he had been prepared for any treachery or betrayal from Michelle. It was a shame that the girl would have this memory of him, but it couldn't be helped at this point. He should have known Michelle wouldn't have made it easy for him, so he felt little remorse that she would be paying for her crimes this evening in ways she hadn't expected.

*****

Darius placed the girl on the bed and arranged her so that she lay flat with her arms and legs at her sides. He chuckled at the costume she wore as he smoothed down the tiny pleated skirt. It would certainly make a statement with some of his brothers. He wondered how the others had faired and if anyone else had checked in yet. He checked his watch and considered whether to call in his collection now or leave it until the last minute to add some suspense to the game. The team he had assembled for this challenge were waiting for the go-ahead, so he made the call to the Alliance using the secure networks video chat service.