Silver Ch. 08

Uist revelled in making his mate come undone at his touches. He lapped at Sholto's heated skin, its fine sheen of perspiration adding an extra saltiness to the taste. He laved the cinnamon nubs into hard peaks, nipping carefully to mewls of delight. He could scent Sholto's increasing arousal and the glittering silver contrasting with crisp, dark hair, beckoned silently. He licked around the base of Sholto's engorged flesh and the decorated abdomen.

Certain his mate was at the limit of his endurance, he engulfed the straining penis to the root and pressed the tip of his finger against his lover's tightly furled flesh. A wail of completion accompanied the outpouring of Sholto's nectar and Uist drank greedily, massaging the younger man's sac to milk him fully. As he swallowed the last drop of the salty-sweet elixir, Uist knelt up, pumping roughly at his own damson-hued flesh. He roared his release, anointing Sholto's still flushed chest. Breathing harshly in the aftermath, Uist rubbed his crème into his mate's skin and inhaled deeply. A heady scent of satiation, sweat and their joint releases washed over him and he purred contentedly.

"Possessive, love?" Sholto muttered drowsily, knowing the answer already.

"Of you? Always, my own," Uist replied honestly. He stretched lazily to lie alongside his lover, running a finger over the furred chest and circling the dusky nipples. He captured Sholto's reddened lips with his own and let his tongue sweep imperiously into the willing mouth. As he pulled back he tenderly stroked Sholto's face, the younger man angling into the loving caress. "You need to sleep," Uist rumbled, seeing the smudges under Sholto's eyes. "Would you be willing to join Rayner with Theophilus and Xavier?"

"You wanna sit with Tristam?" Sholto murmured, post-orgasmic lethargy enveloping him.

"I do not want any one of our family alone at present, even here on 'Silver'."

"I understand, lover," Sholto replied, nuzzling into his big mate.

****

Xavier glanced up to see Uist striding towards him, a sleeping Sholto in his arms. The reptilian smiled and pulled back the sheet on the free side of his young husband.

As Uist lay his precious bundle down, Theophilus instinctively encircled the darker male with an arm and Sholto burrowed as close as he could get. The cat-man smiled tenderly at the three sleeping men.

"They are so fragile, so vulnerable and yet so strong and so brave," he said to Xavier. "His time is very near," he added as he touched Theophilus' hair with a barely-there caress.

"I can do little to help him in the actual birthing," Xavier sighed. Nanobots would try and stop his body performing as it needs, but I can step in once our child is delivered and ensure that for the next time I can help more."

"We will all help him when his time comes," Uist said determinedly as he stood. "I will sit with Tristam. If you need anything, call us."

****

The six men headed from 'Silver' to the house of Jameson and Aurora. It saddened them to see the level of security at the place they regarded as their home. A mixture of electronic systems as well as personnel made it seem cold and impersonal rather than inviting and homely. They were met at the door by the older couple, Aurora whisking away her 'boys' to settle and fuss over, whilst Jameson indicated Tristam, Xavier and Uist should accompany him into his den.

"Willis has been in touch," he said. "It seems Tristam's little chat has caused long-reaching ripples. It's still very low-key, but it's there."

They looked up as another PrideHomer entered and instantly Uist strode over to him, the two males rubbing their faces in greeting.

"This is Denys," Uist said, initialling the formal greeting. "He is my sire's younger sibling."

"He has offered to be part of your personal security, boys," Jameson explained

"I have brought my sons, Jaymz and Dayd," the big male rasped. Taller and broader than Uist with caramel fur, he stepped up to personally greet Tristam and Xavier. After rubbing faces he clasped Xavier's shoulder. "The Pride looks forward to their newest member's safe deliverance and I to my first great nephew."

"Thank you, Denys," Xavier nodded his gratitude. "I cannot express how grateful I am to all who have stepped forward to help protect us or find our nemesis."

"He will soon be no threat. I swear it," Denys growled.

****

Tristam accompanied Uist and Jameson to Elite HQ wanting to personally review all the information they had. Jameson's internal security investigation had uncovered only two rogue Elite personnel, which included Theophilus' abductor. Tristam intended to go through everything Jameson had. A couple of hours of intense study later and Tristam needed to take a break.

He stared at his reflection in the washroom, seeing the toll that the recent events had taken on him. He gave a mental sigh. Soon it would be over. He glanced up at the overall-encased engineer who nodded at him as he headed to a cubicle.

As Tristam moved to leave, the engineer raised his hand, discharging a small needle from the device on his wrist. He grinned coldly at the fallen blond. Stepping past the unconscious man, he pulled the specially-modified trolley into the room and removed a shallow shelf of tools. It concealed a large empty space that he carelessly bundled Tristam into. Whistling jauntily, he replaced the false top and wheeled his prize away.

****

Tristam woke, letting himself come to full consciousness slowly. He listened carefully and scented as unobtrusively as possible. Neither sense told him anything much. The room smelt of antiseptic and there was no one else in there. He slitted an eye open and used his enhanced vision to scan the room. It was empty and sterile. From his perspective he could see the chemical toilet and washbasin. He had been stripped and dressed in a mid-thigh shift that was cold and stiff against his skin and could feel a metallic collar around his neck.

There was nothing more he could tell and he gave a mental shrug. He stretched theatrically, noting that there were no windows in the room. The door was clearly electronic and slid open and shut leaving only a tell-tale line down what would otherwise appear to be a wall. Once demonstrating awareness, he was sure he would not have long to wait for attention.

"How nice to see you again, Tristam," Jabez smiled maliciously from just inside the door that slid silently open and closed. "If you're contemplating escape, don't bother. The doors all operate on biochip technology. No chip, no open."

"I understand," Tristam said. At that moment, escape was not his concern. He had the feeling that Jabez was more involved than they had first surmised, but of paramount importance was finding the man responsible for their recent trials. He stood and took a step towards his smirking captor before his body was suddenly flooded with excruciating pain. He dropped to his knees trying to breathe around the waves of agony.

"Just a taste, Tristam," Jabez said. He caught a handful of the blond's hair and pulled the other man's head back, slowly rubbing his clothed erection across Tristam's face. "The only reason I haven't already taken you is that my scientists need a base-line before they begin testing you in earnest. Once the drugs are fully out of your system and they complete their first run of sampling, I will have you."

Tristam did not waste energy responding to the threat. The pain had come as a shock to his system and now he knew exactly the function of the collar he wore. Although it symbolised Jabez's dominance over him, it was also the way in which his punishment was administered. He could still feel the tingle around his throat as he got slowly to his feet. As bad as it had been, he let Jabez think him more shaken than he was.

At that moment, it was possibly the only physical advantage he had. Keeping his head bowed, he used the periphery of his vision to regard the man who leant carelessly against the wall, a small device glinting in one hand whilst the other traced the outline of his straining shaft.

He mentally prepared himself as Jabez casually pushed away from the wall and over to him. He kept his face neutral as he was backed against a wall. He made no attempt to resist or avoid unwanted touches as Jabez's free hand slid beneath the shift to pinch at his nipples, feel his disinterested sex and then begin a slow squeeze of his sac. He gave a grunt of pain at a hard squeeze that coincided with Jabez's mouth closing over his. He held himself rigid as an unwelcome tongue snaked into his mouth. The display of power seemed to appease the silver-haired man and Tristam glowered menacingly after him as he sauntered towards the door.

"I think I will have your nipples pierced," Jabez said laconically. "I can hang weights from them when I bend you forward and take you from behind. I'm looking forward to all the things I can do to you," he added in a menacing tone. "This way."

Tristam was ushered ahead and guided down a windowless corridor. He could feel Jabez's eyes on him, but refused to allow himself to become unnerved. They had known the danger of retaliation when they had openly challenged Hiram. He was alive, well, about to meet their nemesis and, for the moment, that was the most he could have hoped for.

A door opened ahead and he walked inside. It was a Spartan room with sterile white walls. The only furniture was a table and a couple of large, heavily padded chairs in the same chilled white. One wall was covered with a white blind, drawn against the view of the outside world. Tristam stopped, waiting for Jabez as the smirking man strode past heading towards the blind.

"Come here," he commanded arrogantly.

Tristam ambled slowly towards him as, with a theatrical flourish, Jabez changed the blind from opaque to transparent. Tristam stared at the vista before him.

"That's right, Tristam," Jabez's voice came from behind him. "It's a sight you know so well. We're no more than fifteen minutes away from Elite HQ, across the park. Someone once said the best place to hide something was in full view. You know this as the Pharmaceutical Development Corporation that works hand-in-glove with both the Military and the Elite. Of course, my more...alternative...uses for it are conducted well below ground level. Now for the next part of your surprise."

Tristam watched as Jabez moved closer to the left-hand wall and waved his hand to open another door. He vanished inside, only to emerge after a moment guiding an electronic wheelchair in which sat a frail, aged figure.

"You wanted Hiram, Tristam," Jabez said mockingly. "So here he is. Hiram III, third generation clone. What the original Hiram couldn't know was that by taking cells from each successive clone was the equivalent of old-fashioned photocopying. Any imperfections in the original are magnified in the copy. Hiram had congenital eye defects and muscle wastage which became apparent and debilitating earlier with each copy. It's not worth using nanobots on him, they have to work round the clock and he no longer goes out in public. My father effectively ran the company during the latter years of Hiram II and now it's my turn."

"How aware is he?" Tristam asked.

"Who cares?" Jabez laughed. "I make the credits and any illegal activity uncovered sits on his shoulders. The perfect arrangement. You brought your own damnation down on your head after you closed down so much of the company. I looked at everything to do with you to get my revenge."

Watching the silver-haired man, Tristam realised that as physically deficient as Hiram was, Jabez's mind was equally unstable. He had singled out Tristam for all his hatred. At the very least it was likely that Jabez was psychotic. For the blond that meant he was more dangerous than anticipated. There was no way of knowing just how far Jabez would go and it was obvious he was completely fixated on his revenge.

"Some information was easy to come by," Jabez continued. "Some took cunning and great amounts of credits. Imagine my delight to eventually find that you were one of the Corporation's early experiments. Sight and hearing successfully enhanced through genetic engineering with PrideHomer DNA and the only survivor not psychotic like Regina became or reduced to a vegetative state. Your lab was intended to create the perfect covert, surveillance operative. Just like the Beast was designed to be the perfect foot soldier. The experiment was deemed a failure after your Lab was found and closed down. There was never any indication your genetic advantage had remained. However, we will gain much from studying you."

He laughed. The sound was cold and menacing.

"Hiram was never your nemesis. It was always me."

Swallowing past a dry throat, Tristam could scarcely believe what he was hearing. This was the origin of his existence. He pushed it aside. It did not matter. He had become who and what he was due to the love and care of Aurora and Jameson and his beloved Rayner.

"You," Tristam growled, forcing himself to remain calm. This was still not the time to react. "You were on the space station that held Uist, Sholto and Theophilus? You were the one who terrorised two pregnant members of my family."

"Fortunately not." Jabez shuddered as he remembered the destruction of his station. "The images were being broadcast to me. It was not a place I chose to visit in person. Once they had birthed, I would have had Theophilus and Sholto moved. Uist would have remained to supply me with PrideHomer DNA. I will still have the Dregan," Jabez continued, his voice dropping in timbre.

"Never," Tristam hissed. The feral smile and less-than-sane glint in Jabez eyes had a cold fission tingle down his spine.

"I will let the lizard live with the loss of his husband and child, that will be sufficient suffering for him. Rayner and your child can also live. After all, you will be more pliant if they remain free, their freedom for your submission. Although who knows what I may gain from studying your offspring? That may be something for the future," Jabez said, almost rambling now he was putting his thoughts into words. "I still want Sholto and his child, a natural human-PrideHomer hybrid, although I will probably need to kill Uist to have him. And of course, the Dregan will refuse me nothing for the sake of his 'family' and his baby; he will be the perfect, malleable bed-mate for me."

Tristam looked at Jabez barely able to believe what the man was saying. Even if Bloodfeud had not been invoked, there would be no way Tristam would let him live after voicing his depraved desires. When he had begun speaking of Theophilus, Tristam's nostrils had been assailed by the stench of the silver-haired man's lust. His eyes narrowed. Jabez was a walking, talking, dead man.

"Anyway, enough for now. Enjoy some time with the man on whom you invoked Bloodfeud. He may even be coherent for a few minutes," Jabez added with a cruel laugh.

Tristam looked at the man in the chair who peered myopically at him. He was not even sure Hiram understood what was happening in the room, much less any wider issues. He sighed. Hiram was probably more of a prisoner that he was. It was with some surprise that he realised the older man was motioning him to come closer. He moved to kneel at the side of the chair.

"You need this." The voice was barely above a dry husk and a bony, shaking finger tapped at a small chip visible under the translucent skin of Hiram's right wrist. "No use to me," he continued. "I can open the door but then what? Jabez stopped the elevator coming to this floor and I can't crawl down the stairs."

"You seem very lucid," Tristam observed, looking into the rheumy, grey eyes behind thick lenses.

"I'm not as mentally impaired as I let Jabez think. I share my originator's desire to live, even in this state. By the time I realised my physical predicament it was already too late. Poetic justice, don't you think? I front the legitimate side of an organisation that, behind closed doors, seeks to manipulate genetics. For all the technology available, it can do nothing to help me. My body dies a little each day for all the credits in the bank and all the scientists at Jabez's disposal."

"You were never involved yourself?" Tristam clarified.

"Jabez only enlightened me after the court trial. My memory chip only contains memories of the charitable work the organisation does. Or at least used to do. Offsetting profits made selling defence and military armaments against subsidising wells and irrigation systems and such like. We're wasting time. In the bathroom is a supply of nanobots. Guide me over and let's get this chip out."

****

Jabez returned to see both men sitting silently, side-by-side staring at the view from the window. He gave a cold smile of satisfaction. Firstly Tristam, then the Dregan and his child and finally Sholto and his, his plans were still on track and he would bend Tristam to his will.

"Time's up, Tristam," he said. "Back to your room."

Tristam obeyed wordlessly. Once back in his cell, Jabez halted him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Touch me," he growled.

Tristam locked eyes with Jabez as his hand slid over the unmistakable bulge at the other man's groin. Then he squeezed hard. The waves of agony crashing over him within seconds were expected and deemed worthwhile.

"I'm glad to see you still have some fight left in you, Tristam," Jabez said in a strained voice, his hand gripping the device that activated the blond's obedience collar so hard that his knuckles were white. "You'll pay for that little display later."

Tristam crawled to the bed and pulled himself onto it. Hiding his face in the crook of his elbow, the blond smiled, clenching a fist tightly around the small chip. Even without the means of escaping the cell, Tristam would still smile. Since he had first awakened, he had felt the comforting touch of his husband's mind. His kidnapping was not only expected, but hoped for. Things would happen very quickly. Jabez was going down.

Hard.

****

It seemed like no time at all before Tristam surged to his feet and opened the door to race into the corridor. He could feel Rayner was still a distance away, but closer, and gave a grim smile, knowing his husband would have refused to stay at home. Neither Sholto nor Theophilus would be present and he was grateful his lover was not going to actually enter the premises.

Remembering the atrocities described to him by Uist that he, Sholto and Theophilus had witnessed, he wanted to spare Rayner any chance of being exposed to anything similar Jabez might have lurking in the deeper parts of the building. Before he could reach Hiram's suite, Xavier and Uist appeared. Tristam gave a curt nod at the raised eyebrow of the cat-man.

"I'm fine. Our nemesis is Jabez not Hiram. I'll explain as we go."

The fighting was minimal, Elite forces storming the building in numbers and securing it swiftly with no loss of life on their side. However, Tristam, Uist and Xavier began to get more agitated as no sign of Jabez was uncovered. Tristam suddenly came to abrupt halt, his eyes focused on a distance none but he could see. With horrified eyes, he turned to the other men.

"Theophilus," he whispered.

****

The uniformed Elite officer strode purposefully into the home of Jameson and Aurora, using an electronic card to enter the grounds. He presented the card inside the house and whispered into the ear of one of the other Elite present. The newcomer gave a curt nod at the reply and headed to the rear of the house. Glancing around, he opened the specified door closing it behind him.

Theophilus and Sholto looked over in surprise. They were sharing a sumptuous, red, two-seater sofa in Jameson's library. Theophilus' head rested on Sholto's shoulder as the younger man read aloud from a large book.