Thick As Thieves Ch. 04

"It's complicated, Mom," I explained. She nodded.

"Well, I can see that, honey, but...!" She wasn't sure how to react. Shock took over her like it did me. I guess there really was no right way to react.

"It's my fault," I said. "If I had told them..." My mother gave me a look that told me to shut up.

"Don't do that to yourself, Marge," she said gruffly. "It's no one's fault. We'll get them back, honey. We will; you'll see," she promised. I nodded. And at that precise moment I thought of someone else. I picked up the phone.

"There was someone who helped us years ago," I said. "Wayne and I trust him. Let's just hope he's close."

Anya

I was still groggy when I opened my eyes to a dark room. I was on a matress...not a very comfortable one. And I wasn't in a bedroom.

The walls and floor were cement; the roof wasn't finished. I could see all of the wood and support beams for the floor above. I must have been in a basement. When I looked around, I slowly remembered everything that happened.

"Nate!" I gasped. I needed to find him. If I had been taken by Max I could bet that he was taken as well. And if Max was as dangerous as Harry said he was, I needed to be fast and careful. I got up, trying to walk off the sleepy state I was in while checking out the room. The only thing that was in there was a desk with a laptop sitting on it. And a locked door.

I didn't have anything on me or around me to pick the lock. Not in this empty room. Maybe if I could hack into our server through the laptop I could get some help, I thought. I sat at the desk. As I sat I noticed a sticky note on the screen.

"Watch and learn. Make yourself comfortable, sis," I read. It wasn't Nate's writing; and he hadn't called me sis since we found out about how my parents really gotten me. This was Max's writing.

From nowhere I heard a scream. It sounded like Nate! I got up and ran to the door, banging on it as hard as I could.

"Max! Ma-ax!' I yelled. "If you want to hurt somebody, hurt me! Let Nate go!" I begged. Nothing and no one responded. I smacked my fist against the door harder. Tears flowed from my eyes. I didn't want Nate or anyone else getting hurt.

The door suddenly flew open and a man dressed in black grabbed me and started to drag me back to the chair by the computer. I fought him as hard as I could. But he was too strong. And then two other men came in.

"Looks like you have trouble staying still," I heard a voice coming from the door. I looked to see one more man coming in. It was the guy from mexico...Pink board shorts.

"You?" I asked confused. He chuckled.

"As a thief I would expect you to be observant of everything. But you didn't do any research into me at all. It wasn't even you who first thought to look into more than just our mother. Poor Nate was going to warn you. All of this because you didn't do your proper research. Your mentors would be so ashamed of you, wouldn't they?" He said with a condescending smile.

He wasn't wrong. I had only looked into my parents. I didn't find much on my brother anyway. And with everything that was going on I just ignored it, dismissing it almost completely.

"If you mean the people who trained me, they aren't my mentors," I said defiantly. "They're my parents. Where are they?! Where's Nate?!" He walked over to me, sitting on the desk.

"Don't worry," he smiled. "I haven't hurt him too much. Just having a little fun."

"Go fuck yourself!" I hissed. He gave me a look feigning shocked surprise.

"Now, that's no way to talk to someone who can easily overpower you,." he chuckled. My heart pounded in my chest. I needed to be careful if I wanted to help Nate.

"Please don't do anything to him," I begged. "Take me; do whatever you want with me. But let him go." He only grinned.

"Oh, I plan on doing just that...after I have a bit more fun," he replied. I shook my head.

"Why?" I asked, my voice trembling. "Why, Max? Why are you doing this?!" He shrugged.

"Simple," he said. "I want to. I like playing games...,Jessica. I love it; the thrill of it all; the risks; the rewards. You do too." He tried to touch my cheek. I leaned away, disgusted by him.

"I don't like playing your little games...," I began.

"Oh, yes you do," he interrupted. "You and your little squad get off on it. Taking things; exposing people; playing around with information; doing what you want. You love it, don't you? You love manipulating and cheating people, don't you?" he asked moving closer to me.

"You like doing it because you can. Same reason I do what I do." He leaned up and away. "Now when you're done watching the little movie I put together for you, I'll let you see Jonathan. The longer you take the more fun I have with him. And if you dare lie to me and say you finished it when I know you didn't...," he looked directly into my eyes, evil in his own. "...I'll kill him," he swore. I looked at him.

"I...I don't understand. Why?!" I asked. He simply got up, with a smile on his face.

"I was raised in it," he said. "I love it. I get off on it...and you will too." He stepped out, closing the door behind him.

One of his men took the note off of the screen and clicked on a video that was ready on the screen. When it started I gasped, seeing the bloody dead body of the waitress who had tried to hit on Nate.

"Remember her?" Max's voice came from the video. "She was fun; a screamer. A little difficult, but fun." I watched as he moved the camera towards two figures in a chair. When I looked again I saw that it was my parents.

"No!" I shook my head.

"They could be fun too," Max said. "But only if you don't cooperate. So please, I beg of you, don't cooperate." He was chuckling. "The truth is you should be thankful. I'll be making them stronger." The screen went black for a few seconds. When the picture came back on I saw Nate, tied up, inside a small tube that barely fit him.

"No, no, no, no, no!" I screamed, shaking my head. Nate was claustrophobic. Normally it isn't too bad. But this...he wouldn't fair well.

"Nate!" I breathed. As soon as he seemed to wake up, his eyes widened and I saw him struggling.

"Let me out!" he shouted. Just as he did the tube got even tighter. He looked even more terrified. I sobbed, not wanting to watch this.

"Please, just let him go!" I whispered, unable to find my voice through the tears. Max wasn't in the room anymore, but it didn't stop me from begging. Maybe his men would have some heart at least.

"Please!" I said to the men in the room. "I know you're supposed to be working for him, but please just get Mate out; let him go." I tried again, my voice getting even smaller.

"Nate will get over his fear eventually," Max's voice spoke again. "I just have to give him something worse to be afraid of. Lets try a few...jolts of excitement." Nate screamed as an electric current sounded through the tunnel. His body shook and convulsed through the small space and I shouted out, wanting it to stop.

"He'll get stronger because of me," Max said again. "I should know." The camera switched again, showing a little boy with blond hair taking his shirt off, tears in his eyes.

"Aww...that's a cute little me, isn't it?" Max said.

"I'm scared, Dad," the little boy sniffled. The man walking behind him was recognizable from pictures I had seen during research. It was Mark Kentwood...holding a whip.

"Don't be afraid of pain," the man said.

"You see," Max said, "our father taught me the best. Watch." I saw Mark raise his hand, and then crack the whip at his son. The boy screamed in pain, and I saw blood oozing from the wounds that were left. I cried for the little boy, for the person who Max and Mark had killed to transform him into who he was today. How could someone do that to any kid, much less their own child?

"Watch again." The video changed again and again. The boy was getting older and eventually the screams turned into little shouts; then to small yelps; to mere winces; to nothing. His face became more and more stoic, more inhuman as the footage continued.

"And then there are people." The footage continued. He was young again. They were getting him adjusted to seeing dead bodies. Just like before, he started out crying in the corner, begging the men to take it away, not wanting to see it. The second time they showed him he was throwing up, still crying.

He changed again, going from scared to indifferent. They broke him, and desensitized him; they took the human being out of him. He was just a shell now. A shell who enjoyed hurting people.

"I learned to never fear pain," he said. "You will too. You're older now. But you'll still learn." Despite what I had just seen, and despite understanding what had happened to him, I still wanted to kill him. And it terrified me. Why? Because we were, in fact, related. He wanted me to see this, and I could easily end up like him. That's what he wants, isn't it?

When he switched the camera back to my parents, the urge to hurt him got much worse. He was holding a baseball bat, ready to hit my mom while she was tied up.

"Son of a bitch!" I whispered before I watched him hit her in the ribs. My mom is strong, but that...that did damage. I didn't have to see the impact; just the look on her face told me that it was painful. I closed my eyes, not wanting to watch anymore.

"They're too weak for you, Jessica," Max said. "All of them are. You don't belong with them. I'll let them go if you do exactly what I say. But after a while you won't care about them. You'll be stronger, and you won't need them." He finished the video.

I shook in the chair. What the hell have I gotten myself into?

The men pulled me back onto my feet and began forcing me towards the door. The hallway was also cement, but there was more light as I walked along. The hallway lead to a metal door with a passcode lock.

The men opened it up to a white tiled room, with even brighter lights. The only thing that I could see was the enclosed rubber looking tube that Nate was in. They tightened it by pulling it on either end. He wouldn't have even been able to breathe properly!

Without thinking I got out of their hold and tried to pry it open. Nate jumped, trying to fight, probably thinking I was Max.

"Nate!" I cried out. "Nate! It's me. I'm here!"

"Go!" Nate shouted immediately. "Get out before he get's you! Leave me!" I cried harder, wanting to help him. I couldn't leave anyway. Something silver flashed beside me. I saw Max standing there, holding a knife that I could use to cut him out. I wanted to stab Max with it. The look on my face must have displayed my thoughts.

"As soon as you move to attack, they'll kill you, sweetheart," he sneered. I closed my eyes, regretting taking it from him. But I had to get Nate out of there.

"You hurt him again and I'll find a way to slaughter you!" I hissed as I grabbed it from him.

"Fine." He smiled down at me. "He was getting used to it anyway." I glowered at him.

"I promise I won't hurt him." He put his hands up. I couldn't trust him...I knew I couldn't...and yet I didn't have a choice.

I began working fast, trying not to cut Nate while I cut the tube open. He had little wires taped to his arms and neck. As soon as he began scrambling out of the tube we were both ripping them off. He looked wild and frantic from the fear. I don't think I had ever seen his eyes so wide, or his hair so messy. He was horrified. And I was heartbroken.

"Nate!" I held him to me. He was trembling even more than I was. But he held onto me, tighter than he ever had before...almost crushing me.

"You're okay?" He asked. I didn't know what to say.

"We'll get out of here. I know we will," I whispered.

"Tie them," Max suddenly ordered. His men acted quickly, suddenly forcing us into chairs across from each other. With my focus on getting Nate out, I hadn't noticed them or the rope that was beside them.

I didn't see the point in fighting. We couldn't get away now. Not with this many armed men and a sealed room. If they left us alone, we might have a chance. But it didn't look like Max had any plans to leave.

When we were strapped down Nate was still fighting, wanting to get to me. I suddenly felt something push into my side before I felt a jolt of intense, burning pain rush through my side. I yelped, from the surprise of it.

"No!" Nate shouted, fighting harder. I looked to see Max holding a taser.

"Every time you fight them, I shock her," Max warned Nate. Nate glowered at him and stopped moving, for my sake.

I looked at Nate, needing to say something. But I didn't know how to start.

"I'm so sorry, Jonathan!" I cried. He looked to me, changing his expression.

"You didn't know. It's his fault." He glowered at Max again.

"I didn't look into him more...," I started.

"An!" Nate snapped. "Nothing you can say will make me think that this is your fault," he said. Max stepped between us, blocking our view of each other.

"How touching." He smiled at us. "However, Nate, I'd have to say you're wrong. She's technically wrong too. It's not my fault you set her on me in Mexico; not her fault either. Who gave her the idea? Hmm?" He looked more closely at Nate. The words were beginning to get to him.

"Nate! Don't listen to him!" I ordered. Nate looked back at me.

"I could have stopped you from going after him..."

"I don't care!" I interrupted. "He wants you to feel guilty. Don't let him do this to you!"

"You're certainly one to talk, Jessica," Max chuckled.

"Don't...fucking...call...me...that!" I shouted. There was a moment of silence and I waited, holding my breath for something terrible to happen.Max turned towards his men again.

"I need to adjust him," he said. Two men walked up to Nate and I panicked.

"You said you wouldn't hurt him!" I exclaimed.

"I won't." He smiled at me. This wasn't good.

The men kept him tied up while Max tied more ropes around his body, untying him from the chair. I didn't want to know what he was doing.

"Guys, why don't you take a short break?" Max turned towards his men. One by one they left the room and I somehow became more terrified. He put Nate back on the chair for a moment before walking to me and kneeling in between my legs.

"No!" I fought him as he tried to take off my panties. He looked up at me with a smile and held the taser to my side again. Nate fought out of the chair, but he couldn't get out of the ropes. He was getting close before Max pushed him down beside us and held him on the floor.

"Every time either of you fight, I shock her," Max said. Nate gave up, looking defeated. I didn't want this.

"N-Nate." I shook. He looked at me, heartbroken, from the floor.

Max ripped off my panties and laid his lips on my thighs. We couldn't do anything.

"She smells so sweet," Max said. "Fuck! I can see why you didn't let the whole sister thing get in your way." We let him talk, not knowing what to do. I looked at Nate, not knowing what to say. He took in a deep breath with his eyes closed before looking back at me.

"Close your eyes, Anya," Nate gently ordered. I looked at him. "Pretend it's me." Tears fell down my cheeks. And to my shame I didn't fight. I closed my eyes.

To be continued.