The Twelve Zenati Pt. 02

"Like what? He had a second. This could be a possible solution, but I need to know it all," Genesis said as if calculating the outcomes.

"Genesis, this is not something you can take on lightly. You would need to do everything for her. Choose her diet, her clothes, manage every minute detail of her life. Are you prepared for that?" she asked.

"It would only be that way in the beginning. Once she started to trust me, I could start releasing some of that hold and give her a little autonomy-baby steps," he said, showing that he had been listening.

"The beginning could last a very long time and that is only in the best-case scenario, if this second had enough power to broker a complete change of ownership. If there is a hint that Remington will come for her when he is recovered, then you will need to do things his way, or close enough to his way so that she is comfortable under your influence. That could easily double the time and effort required to help her." Once again, she sighed.

"What if she thought him dead? Would the deal still need to brokered?" he asked.

"Yes, or she will feel immense guilt for living without him, and she might even become suicidal, such is the bond she feels at present," Vivienne warned.

"Then the second is our best shot at this," he said whilst he scratched his cheek, wishing he had taken the time to shave that morning.

"Are you truly so ruthless? Could you become the sadistic Master she craves? You saw the medical reports detailing the marks, bruises and damage to her body. The information from the bodyguard is that they were totally monogamous, and she begged for every single mark on her body, including the engagement ring that was pierced through her nipple rather than placed on her finger. She will expect the same treatment from any man strong enough to take her from Remington and claim ownership, even if only temporarily. She is broken, Genesis, and she may not ever completely heal." Vivienne was trying to make him see what an impossible task he faced if he took on this challenge.

"So, what's the alternative, just leave her as she is?" he exploded, incredulously.

"No, I wasn't saying that, but the Papillo have facilities where she would be kept safe and comfortable," she said, gently giving him one of the other options. "The Battaglia Masters may be ruthless enough to beat some self-awareness back into her."

"You can't be serious? The other options are to lock her away with lunatics or lock her away with the Battaglia Masters?" he asked incredulously. "How would either of those options help her to heal properly? She's not the criminal here! She's an innocent!" The thought made him furious, and he was glad that his father and brothers were not here to witness his outburst as he took a cleansing breath to calm down.

"Okay, I will help you to do this if you can tell me why. Why are you so invested in this girl?" she asked.

What could he say? He promised Father Bob that he would save her? Admit that the moment he walked into her hospital room his heart stopped and that his body had a very real visceral reaction to her despite her injuries and generally-dishevelled state? That he believed in fate and that nothing was a true coincidence? That he had a hero complex, which was why he had the career path he did? He'd been at the height of his superhero powers when he had helped uncover the human trafficking operation and saved several women from a life of horror. How could he explain why he was so hell-bent on saving this one woman? He decided to be honest.

"Because I am a ruthless, sadistic bastard at heart, but instead of making her my perfect woman, I think she could be perfection all on her own, in her natural state," he said seriously, admitting his attraction to the woman. "Besides, I love a challenge, and I imagine that this will be more than challenging for both of us if you decide to help me."

"I believe you are right," Vivienne laughed lightly, taken aback by his honesty and deciding to help him to help Serena.

*****

The enthusiasm that Kairos showed to broker a change of ownership for the woman known as Serena Seabrook and give her back her birth name had puzzled Genesis until he saw the look on the man's face as they entered the hospital room where Remington Royce lay in a coma. He was in love with the man, albeit unrequited love. It seemed he wanted to be rid of her and any further damage she could do to the Suebi though Genesis was unsure if she could be used as a pawn by others or if Kairos still held hope he would be released from prison and able to take up the mantle of Suebi Chieftain in this territory. He was more inclined to believe he wanted her out of reach of any who may come after them and handing her back to the tables was possibly the only way to ensure that.

After spending some time with the body and speaking with the specialists that Kairos had put in place himself when they had first brought Remy to the hospital, ensuring that everything possible had been done to save his life, he seemed to accept that the death of his friend was inevitable. Only after all of his questions had been answered did he approach Genesis and Vivienne and give his agreement to follow through with his end of the bargain.

"Kairos?" Serena asked quietly as she saw him in the doorway where he had stopped to draw a steadying breath.

"Serena, are they treating you well?" he asked formally as he approached the bed. He turned his head, glaring at the nurse until she left, claiming she needed to check the chart for doctor's notes. Genesis followed Kairos in and leaned against the wall watching the proceedings until he was called for.

"Yes and I've been a good girl. Where's Remy?" she asked, her eyes desperately sliding to where Genesis leaned against the wall and sealing her lips shut again.

"Remy is here in the hospital. He is in a coma that he will not waken from," Kairos said with genuine grief and took Serena in his arms. "Sweet girl, they have told you that he will die here, have they not?" he asked, regaining some of his composure.

"Yes, but I didn't believe... Remy is so strong... I can't," she stuttered and stopped as tears rolled down her face. "The machines... he is alive! They said the machines keep him alive."

"No, sweet girl. The man we knew is gone; that is just the shell," Kairos said, his voice choked with emotion. "That is why I am here. There are things we must all do to honour his memory and keep you safe, just as Remy promised. The burden that Remy has given me is large now, and you need to trust me as you did him. I speak for him now, you understand?" Kairos asked, making her look up into his face to see his resolve. "He left instructions for your care, should he not be here to keep you safe. Instructions that I must carry out now. He loved his little slut and would never leave you alone and needy, not even when he died. He loved you and wanted you safe and protected, no matter what happened, sweet girl."

"Instructions?" she asked, not understanding what he was saying.

"Remy went to a lot of trouble saving you and creating a new life for you with him so you would be safe. He made you the woman you are today, and he did not want the gifts he had given you tossed away easily. You were his greatest treasure, his most precious and prized possession." Kairos stroked her hair from her face. "Remy discussed, at length, his wishes regarding your safety and care with me, as he did with everything. You know that he always relied on me to know his wishes and see them carried out."

"Yes, he trusted you above everyone," she agreed. "He always told me to go to you if I ever got separated from him. He made me memorise your number, in case, but I have no phone here and they will not let me leave the room." She was babbling and talking fast, trying to apologise for not following Remy's commands and instructions, just as Kairos always did.

"He would not punish you for circumstances beyond his control, sweet girl," Kairos soothed her. "Nor will I. That is no longer my task to perform. Remy chose this man," he indicated Genesis. "He has been here checking your well-being, has he not? Keeping you safe?" Kairos asked.

"He has," she nodded, once again sliding her glance to Genesis, who had been an almost permanent fixture in her room since she woke here earlier that morning. "He knows about my life before Remy," she whispered softly, dropping her eyes in the admission that she remembered Olivia Gambaro's miserable life.

"Yes, he does. He also knows that you belonged to Remy, body and soul. He is part of the same circle of friends who go to Hermione's, although he has been absent for many months, so you may not remember him from there," Kairos lied easily. "It is he that will now keep you safe from those who hunt you, and take care of your needs, little slut. He knows what you need and crave. Remy has given his greatest treasure, his most prized passion to this man, Genesis, to care for and treat as his own now. I could never give you what you need, but Genesis can and Remy knew that. It is what Remy wanted, and his last command to you is to treat this man as you treated him, with absolute loyalty and obedience. When you leave here, you will leave here with Genesis. Even more bad men hunt Serena now, just as they hunted Olivia, and he will keep you safe, sweet girl. Do you understand?"

"Yes, but I don't want anyone else. I want Remy," she sobbed.

"That is not possible. You know this. Remy wanted his most precious possession to be treasured in the same way he treasured you. He did not want you drowning in guilt and sorrow. You belong to Genesis now, and you will obey him as you obeyed Remy. Remy would be disappointed to see you being so disobedient. He wanted this, and he will be happy knowing you are with this man. You will make him happy. Make Remy happy and make me happy, sweet girl."

As he watched the exchange carefully, looking for small clues to the keywords that he knew must be in place as part of the brainwashing, Genesis saw a few tell-tale moments but none as big as the final few phrases. Keeping her safe from bad men and making him and others she needed to obey happy seemed to be the crux of Remy's persuasive training, everything else spun from those phrases. He considered the phase, 'sweet girl'. It suited her and he would use it if he needed to, but it was not a phrase he liked to use. He gave them a few more minutes before signalling Vivienne to interrupt the show.

"I'm afraid that your visitors will have to leave while we have another chat. If you wish to leave the hospital anytime soon you must talk to me," Vivienne said in a serious voice, as if she had struggled to get the girl to talk for Kairos's benefit.

"Talk to the doctors, little girl," Kairos said in a chastising voice as he disengaged her arms from his. "I will not return to you, and if you are a good girl for Genesis, he may let you see Remy before the machines are taken away. Remy will not wake up again. He will die here in this place. You have a different future now, and you need to be brave and to do as Remy instructed and make him happy one last time. Tell the doctors all they want to know. Genesis will protect you and keep you safe now. You can trust him, little girl." Kairos kissed her forehead and stood, walking slowly from the room without saying the word 'goodbye' and held his hands out to the federal agents to cuff him, looking desolate.

"Talk to the doctor, Serena, or would you prefer to be called Olivia now?" Genesis asked softly, taking her hand. He saw her confused eyes, and he squeezed her hand. "While we are here the choice is yours. The doctors have been told your real name, but you can continue to be called Serena for now. When we leave the hospital, we can discuss what will make me happy and my expectations for keeping you safe and caring for you as Remy did." He considered how Kairos had commanded her rather than inform her before he left and added. "You will do as I ask now, little one."

"Yes, Genesis," she said quietly and turned toward Vivienne. "I would prefer to be called Serena until I leave the hospital, please."

"Of course, Serena. Will you answer a few questions for me today?" Vivienne asked gently and watched, as the girl turned to look at Genesis, who nodded his head almost imperceptibly.

"Talk to the doctor, little one," he commanded and squeezed her hand slightly. "I am sure that we would both like to be free of this hospital sooner rather than later." He knew it might still be days that she would have to remain under medical supervision with her injuries. He would move her to a private facility closer to his home once her sister had arrived and approved his care of her and acknowledged the power-of-attorney he had Noah create for Serena to sign for him and her sister to witness.

"Yes, Genesis," Serena said softly, looking back at the doctor but sounding confused and unsure of herself. He had an idea of the keywords and commands now, and that was a boon. He also believed he had a few other ideas and would try them out later this afternoon or tonight when he had some alone time with her.

"Can you tell me why you are refusing to eat?" she asked, making Genesis raise an eyebrow. He hadn't realised that this was still an issue. The bodyguard had managed to get her to take a few mouthfuls at breakfast. "If you don't start eating properly today, the doctors will order a feeding tube for you. Do you understand that?" she asked the second question as Serena hung her head and played with her fingernails as she always did when trying to ignore someone talking to her.

He was grateful for Vivienne's help, but due to her expertise, she had put herself in a position above Genesis in the care of Serena, as if he was the one assisting her. He had asked for her assistance, it was true, but he was not about to hand over the decision-making for her treatment to anyone. Ordering a feeding tube was not on any of the doctor's agendas, as far as he knew, and he doubted that any of them would lift a finger now without talking to him first. Vivienne would learn quickly that if she thought she could just take charge of treating his girl then she was sadly mistaken, and her consultation on the case would cease.

"Answer the doctor, little one," Genesis said sternly, making her lift her head and look at him.

"It's not the right food. They don't understand. I can't eat it," she blurted, almost as if it was painful for her to admit, and fidgeted even more as if her fingers and nails fascinated her.

"I'd like to understand, Serena. Can you tell me what the right food is?" Vivienne asked patiently.

"I don't know. Aunty Bea always gave me what I needed unless we were out and then Remy chose the things that wouldn't hurt me," she said, helplessly.

"That is my responsibility now. I will bring you some food, and you will eat it. I will be very unhappy if you damage my prized possession any further. When I told Remy that I would care for you as he did I did not expect to be receiving damaged goods in need of repair," Genesis said sternly. and withdrew his hand from her, making her gasp. "He would not be pleased by this at all and neither am I," he snapped at her, his dark eyes boring into hers.

"I'm sorry." She turned her sea green eyes on him. "I'm so sorry. I will eat what you tell me to," she said desperately, a shudder running through her. "Please, I will be a good girl, I promise." She looked down at the hand he had withdrawn from her as if willing it to return to where it had rested on her leg. Genesis wondered if the simple act of denying her his touch was how Remy had punished her because she admitted that she enjoyed and even begged for the harsher punishments and use, so obvious on her bruised and battered body.

"Tell the doctor what she wants to know." Genesis practically barked at her, showing his displeasure. "I now have to go and find you something decent to eat because you can't be trusted to look after the treasure Remy gifted to me," he said unhappily and shook his head. "I will be keeping track of these offences while you are healing," he informed her and stalked from the room.

Genesis stood just out of sight beyond the door, listening to the conversation for a few minutes while he texted Gideon, asking him to pick up soup and bread from one of their favourite restaurants and deliver it to the hospital. He reasoned that she probably hadn't eaten properly since she arrived. He then went to the nurse's station and asked about anything she could snack on, preferably a piece of fruit.

Taking an apple along with a plate and paring knife from the small kitchenette in the ward, he returned to the room, to find Vivienne once again trying to rephrase her questions to get a reasonable response from the girl. He perched on the bed and began to peel and core the apple as one might for a child. He didn't have to fake his anger. That a man could make a woman he claimed to love this helpless, this dependant on him for her mere survival, infuriated him. He handed her a piece of the apple and frowned at her until she took a bite and began to chew. Then he nodded and turned to Vivienne.

"Did she tell you what you needed to know?" he asked, brusquely.

"I believe she is trying to find the right words," Vivienne said protectively, and gave Serena a soft smile, trying to gain her friendship by not telling Genesis that she had stopped talking when he left the room. She sat back, watching Genesis hand Serena the apple one piece at a time, making sure that she ate it all before finally removing the frown of disappointment from his face. He might be up to the task of helping this girl after all, she conceded, but she still had her doubts and considered taking the girl back to the hospital where she had her offices to help her as she did the research on this type of personality disorder.

Of the few cases she knew of and had followed up on in the last day not one had given her much hope for successful treatment of such extreme personality erasure. One girl had successfully transferred her feelings to another dominant and had made some steps toward independent thought, while another one had not coped at all and was institutionalised to receive intensive therapy after several suicide attempts. A third had remained in the same dependant state, serving a new master, believing that the man who had damaged her psyche would come back to claim her one day. None of these three girls had had their minds altered with drugs. Only the abuse of cruel and sadistic men over several years had done the extreme damage.

Serena had only been with Remy for six months, but the introduction of some sort of super mind-altering drug during the initial stages of her training seemed to have had extreme effects on the girl. This made Vivienne concerned that she may not ever be able to recover or accept a new Master fully, not without the same drug to enhance her pliability. Still, Genesis was playing the part, and the girl was responding. It was more than she had thought would happen this morning before the charade with Kairos.

*****

"Whoa! Well, hello gorgeous!" Gideon said cheerily, walking into the hospital room and being confronted by Vivienne Papillo sitting with Genesis and the woman in the bed.

"Ignore my brother, Vivienne, he doesn't get out much," Genesis groaned and rolled his eyes at Gideon as he stood to take the food from him. "Gideon, try to think before you open your mouth again. Vivienne is a doctor not a barmaid."

"True, but after spending time with you, I think she needs to know that we Zenati men aren't all uptight bastards," he said and shrugged. He then turned his attention to the woman in the bed and got his first sight of Olivia Gambaro. He could understand his brother's attraction now. She was exactly his type. A lost lamb in need of saving was a good description, with her anxious expression. She looked small and fragile with fine elfin features like a pixie. He grinned as he settled on a nickname for her.