Lisa Ch. 08c: Evil

"What are you doing?" Riley asked moving closer to Angus.

"This freak is hassling Jessica." Angus growled.

"Angus!" Jessica exclaimed in complete shock. "Mark is part of our family. Don't talk to him like that!"

Jessica's disappointment caught Angus' attention. He blinked down at her for a second before leveling his eyes on Mark again. "Then explain what was going on." He demanded from Mark. "I thought so!" he snarled when Mark, unable to answer, looked to Jessica. Moving so fast that no one had time to react Angus picked Jessica up, moved her aside, and punch Mark in the stomach and before Mark could recover Angus punched him on the face.

"No!" Jessica and Justine yelled at the same time both moving to step between Angus and Mark, Jessica foiled at the last second by Jim grabbing her by the waist. Jessica flailed her arms and legs as she hung from Jim's arms. Justine made it between Angus and Mark just as Angus pulled back for another punch. "Mark knows one of the women who was sold by Earl!" Jessica shouted, "She wants to tell me where to find the others! Stop please Angus!"

"Stop!" Don yelled, grabbing Angus' fist before he landed the punch.

"Put me down Jim." Jessica begged over her shoulder. Jim hesitated but put her down.

"Angus listen." Jessica went to Angus, pressed against him, rubbing his chest. "We can find the women and children that Earl sold. We can bring them home."

Angus stood staring down at Jessica, trying to catch his breath. Eventually his anger seemed to dissipate a little as he focused on Jessica.

"Okay, let's go get them." He grumbled.

"It's not that easy." Jessica said and explained about Mark's friend.

"That's convenient." Angus growled, "Only Mark has ever heard of this woman and only Jessica can talk to her ..."

"What exactly are you accusing me of?" Mark demanded his fear suddenly turning into a fury to rival Angus'. Dropping his forearm from where it had been stemming the flow of blood from his nose Mark stalked toward Angus. "I know you have a problem with me. Ever since you found out about my sexual orientation you've taken every opportunity to let me know exactly what you think of me ..." Mark thundered, "But insinuating that I'd hurt Jessica in any way is way out of line. You don't have exclusive rights to caring about Jessica, Angus. There's a room full of people here who have feelings for her, would do anything for her. So don't you dare accuse me of something like that unless you're ready for a real fight."

Jessica turned, planting one hand on Angus' chest and holding the other to block Mark. But he never got close enough to her, Abe and Don holding him back.

"Is that true?" Jessica asked turning back to Angus, "Have you been mean to Mark?" As much as she was upset with Angus she was equally upset with herself for never noticing that there was a problem.

"Yeah, I have a problem with you. It's one thing to be a fag." Angus growled at Mark. "Something's wrong with a man wanting another man's dick up his ass. It's not natural. But at least these two ..." he said pointing at Rick and Abe, "keep it quiet. I mean, you can hardly tell they're gay. And, they pick a fucking side and stick to it. How can anyone trust somebody who looks like a ladies man but would just as easily fuck you up the ass than look at you. What you did to Chris was wrong. Just so we're real clear, no one is fucking me up my ass, least of all you. And you're not pulling a fast one on me either." Angus added, "You say you care about Jessica. How do you think dragging her off, alone, to some unknown place to meet a complete stranger, is safe for her? Someone who cares about Jessica wouldn't do that!"

Angus finally ran out of steam and just stood glaring at Mark, trying to catch his breath. Silence hung in the air.

"I don't care what you think about me or my sexual orientation." Mark said, "I don't even care what you think quite frankly. But I do care that Jessica knows I would never hurt her. Jessica, " Mark said ignoring Angus, "I trust Elsie. I'll take you there and bring you back. I promise to die before ever letting anything happen to you. I just thought ... I knew you'd want to save those people if you could."

"She's not going. No way." Angus said.

"Abe, can you take care of Mark's nose please?" Jessica asked.

"No way Jessica!" Angus repeated more forcefully.

"Thanks." Jessica said to Abe as he went to get his first aid kit.

Jessica hesitated before turning to Angus. Angus had steeled himself, to deflect the pleas that he was sure were to come. But she looked so fragile he lost his resolve as well as the anger that had consumed him.

"Jess, I'm sorry." Angus said.

"Let's go talk in the studio." Jessica said, taking his hand.

"Alone?" Angus asked. He felt like shit and couldn't fathom how he was going to explain himself.

"No." Jessica said but it was easy to see that she was hurt that he didn't want to be alone with her, "Riley, Scott, Josh and Jim too."

Jessica started for the door, pulling Angus behind her.

Jessica didn't look around and no one said anything so she wasn't even sure that the other men had followed her and Angus until they got in the studio and she turned around.

Angus was watching Jessica. The other men stood near the entrance, looking between Jessica and Angus.

"Jess ..." Angus started, "I don't know what happened. When I saw Mark and you, I just lost it."

Jessica moved into his arms.

"You've always had issues with homosexuality." Jessica said looking up at him. "You've really done your best to deal with Abe, Rick and Mark. It's not fair for us to expect you to be any more tolerant than you have been. I guess not all family members always get along or particularly like one another." She shrugged. "You may not trust Mark, but I do. I do and in truth even if I didn't this opportunity is too big to pass up. Think of all those people that Earl sold. We can direct the police to them ... we can save them. Bring the boys' family back."

"What do the other guys think?" Angus asked, hoping fervently that the other men would insist on someone else going.

"What do you think?" Jessica asked looking past Angus at the other men.

"About what?" Scott asked, "There're like five things going on here."

"Do you trust Mark?" Jessica asked.

"Yes." Scott said right away.

"Without a doubt." Riley said.

"Absolutely," Josh said.

"He saved our asses numerous times during that whole gun battle with Anthony." Jim said, "I trust him completely."

Jessica nodded.

"When are you going to ask us how we feel about you going to meet some stranger?" Riley asked moving closer to Angus and Jessica.

"I'm not." Jessica said watching the other men move closer too. "Because I know you don't like it. But I have a suggestion." Jessica said, signalling the men closer. Soon she was pressed up against part of Angus and part of Riley with Josh's hand in one of hers, and a finger of Jim's and finger of Scott's in her other hand. "Angus, you said no way. If after you hear my suggestion, you still feel that way, then of course I won't go. Does that sound fair? Angus?" she prompted when he was the only one to not nod his agreement.

"What's your suggestion?" Angus asked in a weary tone.

"I think you should come with us. Not directly with us." She added when the men looked overly eager, "I don't think Elsie will see all of us. But you could follow us, in case anything goes wrong."

"I don't understand why this woman wants to see you." Jim said.

Jessica shrugged, "Mark says she's heard about me. He said the whole clan has."

"Probably that whole thing with Anthony." Scott said, "Everybody probably knows about that. I guess I can see how this Elsie might find Jessica trustworthy."

The other men were nodding, except for Angus who shook his head.

"Something about this feels wrong." Angus said.

"That's because you don't trust Mark." Jessica said. "Despite the fact that he's proven himself trustworthy over and over again." And Jessica couldn't help but remember that Angus had been afraid to be alone with her. "And Angus," she added unable to keep the hurt out of her voice, "Why didn't you want to be alone with me?"

"Oh my God Jess," Angus said and the way he was looking at Jessica left little doubt that he was miserable. He pulled her closer. "I was so mad at myself, afraid of what you were going to say to me. I was afraid to be alone with you."

Jessica turned to look up at Angus and brought her hand to his cheek, "What could I possibly say that would scare you so much?"

"That I'm not the person you thought I was. That you're disappointed in me, mad at me, don't love me anymore. That's how you were looking at me. Like I'd done something that changed your mind about me."

"Angus, I will always love you. Just like I'll always love Riley, Jim, Scott and Josh. I was taken so off guard. I'm not sure how I missed the fact that there was a problem between you and Mark. I guess I was disappointed in both of us." She paused and looked confused, "But you get along okay with Rick and Abe, right?"

Angus nodded, "I guess I don't feel as hoodwinked by them as I do by Mark. What he did to Chris ... it could've happened to any one of us." He said looking at the other men, "by any one of us. We trusted that we were all straight, just like Chris trusted Mark. And then, he wasn't. If Mark had touched me or kissed me like he did Chris, I probably would have killed him."

Jessica nodded. "But it didn't happen to you. It happened to Chris and he dealt with it. They seem to be doing okay ... unless there's something else I'm missing. You can't hold that against Mark forever, or define him by it. Like Jim said, he was with us in the woods with Paul and Anthony. He covered us ... you, more times than I could count that night. I know you had a gut reaction, nothing can help those. But maybe if you started being nicer to him on a regular basis, you wouldn't react like that. And as an fyi, Mark used to belong to Daryl's clan. He was abused by Earl and his men just like the boys have been. Who knows what that did to him."

"Oh shit." Jim muttered.

Angus closed his eyes.

"He could have been on one of those videos we watched." Scott said.

"No wonder he passed on watching the videos." Riley said.

"I wonder if his family's been sold too." Josh muttered.

"I don't know if I can feel any shittier than this." Angus grumbled.

"The boys were too drugged up to wake up during your tirade." Riley said, "That ought a make you feel better."

"There's that I guess." Angus said.

"So what do you say?" Jessica asked, "If anything goes wrong you will be there. This is a great chance to help a lot of people. Get the boys' family back."

They were all nodding, even Angus, though far less enthusiastically.

"I don't think we should tell the boys about Elsie yet." Jessica said, "I don't want to get their hopes up too soon."

"Okay. Look. While we're gone the others can take the boys to the pond. That should distract the boys, keep them from wanting their mommy.." Riley said, stating the last part slowly.

There was something in his tone, his expression. Jessica looked at the other men and they were looking at her the same way Riley was. Apprehension shot through her.

"That was just a slip of the tongue." Jessica said.

Riley nodded, "I'm sure it was. But Jess, you do know that there are limits to what you can or should do for other people. Even children."

"Limits?" Jessica asked.

"Yes. You're not supernatural ... there are human limitations that make it impossible for you to defend ... save, everyone." Riley said.

Jessica looked at the men in confusion.

"What Riley's saying ..." Scott said, "Is that you have to take care of yourself too, when you do things for others ... even if they're little boys who look at you like their mother."

"We should go to bed." Angus said. Jessica looked even more confused and she had to fight to keep her eyes open.

"After we talk to Mark. And tell him the plan." Jessica mumbled, flopping against Angus.

"Come on sweetie." Angus said scooping her up. At the ladder he dropped her down to Scott who carried her back to the house. She fought sleep the whole way there. In the house they found Mark sitting on the sofa holding an ice pack to his nose. Everyone was still up. Sean, Rick, Caleb and Chris were back from patrol, replaced by Corey, Quinn, Don and Abe.

Mark stood up when Angus went toward him.

Chris stepped between Angus and Mark. "Thanks for your concern." He said, "But Mark and I will work out our own differences."

"I know. I'm here to say sorry. For everything." Angus said looking past Chris to Mark.

"What about Elsie?" Mark asked.

"We'll follow you and Jess ... at a distance. Not because we don't trust you ... just in case Earl attacks." Angus said.

Mark nodded. "Sounds fair. Is she okay?" he asked looking at Jessica, head lolling, in Scott's arms.

"Exhausted." Scott said.

"Did you talk to her about the boys?" Leah asked.

"We mentioned it." Jim said, "But she just got confused."

"She would." Sean said with a laugh, "Unbelievable."

"I hope she gets some sleep." Amanda said, moving closer to Scott and looking down at Jessica finally passed out. "Maybe she'll be less confused tomorrow."

"No amount of rest is going to fix it." Caleb said. "It's her, the way she is. She couldn't think of herself first if it meant her life."

"That's what I'm afraid of ." Scott said looking down at her too.

"Like we discussed." Riley said, "We have to keep an eye on her. Mark, you missed the meeting ... I guess you didn't have to go to the bathroom so much as accost Jessica ..."

"I can explain ..." Mark said, raising his hands.

"Don't. I know. Jessica is the best tool of persuasion in the world." Riley said, "What I wanted to say is that at the meeting we determined that the only way to keeping Jessica from being a hazard to herself is close monitoring. By all of us. We have to anticipate where she'll sacrifice and as we all know the boys are without doubt the largest sword she'll fall on."

As Riley spoke Mark nodded. "That's obvious. Don't worry, I'll keep her safe. I promise."

"Good night then." Scott said and headed down the hall with Jessica. The other men followed.

That night was considerably better. Jessica still had nightmares but they were fewer and farther between. And she'd fully awaken, realize she was having a dream, and fall back to sleep quickly. A couple of times with the help of an orgasm or two that were gladly administered by the hungry mouths and fingers of the men.

The atmosphere the next morning was one of relief. Jessica looked good. She ate well, had energy. They trained, did chores, some hobbies. The bonds between Jessica and the boys were even more evident as she rotated through the garage, dog kennel, barn and worked with the boys. But what took everyone by surprise was the realization that the other adults were also forging relationships with the boys. Closer and stronger relationships then the adults had ever imagined.

After lunch the boys were elated to hear they were going to the pond. But far less happy that Jessica, Mark and her men weren't going to be there until later.

"Was your family sold too?" Jessica asked Mark as they drove into town. The men were a discrete distance behind them.

"Yeah. My mother, two sisters and younger brother."

"How did you end up in Sean's clan?"

"Riley's dad. They used to be one clan ... Riley's dad found me hiding in the barn." Mark said, "He didn't ask a lot of questions. Just took me in."

"How did Elsie get away?"

"I'm not sure exactly. She doesn't say much these days."

Jessica nodded. "Mark, I'm sorry about Angus. Sorry that I didn't realize there was a problem earlier."

"Don't worry about it Jess." Mark said. "It's what I get for losing control. I don't know if Chris will ever trust me in the bedroom again."

Jessica nodded. "But things with you and Justine are okay, right?"

"Oh yeah. Her and I are fine. Her and Chris are fine. We just won't be all together." Mark said. "And I meant what I said to Angus. About caring about you, about doing anything to protect you."

"Thanks." Jessica said, "Me too ... "

"Yeah, I know." Mark said. "That's what you do." He added when Jessica looked at him in surprise.

"Just don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"Is there a way to care about someone stupidly?" Jessica asked.

"That's not what I meant ..." Mark said.

"Right there." Jessica said when the GPS indicated they'd reached their destination. "One oh five. Ready?" she asked when Mark pulled into the driveway and cut the engine.

"You have the recorder?" Mark asked. Jessica nodded and held up the device.

They went to the door to be greeted by the saddest woman Jessica had ever met. Her heart broke as this woman, who by Mark's account was no older than twenty five, shuffled to the kitchen. She could hardly move. And she looked at least two times older than she really was. Her hair was stringy, and body odor filled the room. Despite the heat the woman was covered from head to toe in clothing. She wore a sweat shirt and jogging pants.

Dead eyes settled on Jessica once they were all seated around the kitchen table.

"Um, Elsie, is it okay if we record this conversation?" Jessica asked showing her the recorder. Elsie shrugged. Not much seemed to matter to her anymore.

"So, um, " Jessica said looking to Mark for help. He nodded encouragement. "Where are the women and children that were sold by Earl?"

At the mention of Earl's name, Elsie's body convulsed. Both Jessica and Mark reached out to help her but she avoided both their hands clearly not comfortable being touched. Unsure what to do, they waited a few minutes and the convulsions stopped but by that point Jessica had begun shaking. She feared convulsions were next.

"Serbia." Elsie suddenly said and Jessica was taken aback to realize that Elsie had no teeth. No teeth. Jessica remembered Tom and Leo saying how Earl and his men would knock the teeth out of anyone who so much as grazed their cocks with them. There were a lot of people missing a lot of teeth. Jessica's shivers turned into tremors. Mark looked at her with concern, slid his arm around her and rubbed her back.

"Serbia?" Mark asked but at the sound of his voice Elsie flinched.

"Serbia?" Jessica said for him. "How did you get out?"

Elsie shook her head. "I don't talk about that."

Jessica looked around the house. It was sparse and dirty just like Elsie was. "Does anyone help you Elsie? Do you have any help?"

Instead of answering Elsie slipped a piece of paper across the table to Jessica.

Jessica and Mark studied it. "These must be places in Serbia." Mark said.

"Names of people too. Do you think these are the people who bought them?" Jessica asked.

"Police." Elsie said.

"Yes." Jessica said looking up at Elsie, "We'll give this information to the police and they'll find your family and friends."

"No ...police." Elsie said and stabbed her finger at the paper Jessica held.

"Yes, the police." Jessica said, "We have to give this to the police."

Elsie stood up, leaned across the table and stabbed the paper with her finger. "Police."

Jessica and Mark looked from the paper to Elsie and back again.

"Do you think ..." Mark began but Elsie flinched and fell back onto her chair.

"These are the names of police?" Jessica asked, but Elsie wasn't responding. Jessica looked at Mark. "Do you think these are Serbian police? Involved in the buying of sex slaves from Earl?"

"I think so." Mark said. The sound of Mark's voice seemed too much for Elsie this time. She pulled her feet up on the chair and grabbed her head.

"Leave!" she screeched.

"Elsie ..." Jessica said but Elsie lost it.