Sukuu, Chapter 02

Chapter 2

Heero stared resolutely out the window, his lips pressed together in a thin line. From the driver’s seat, Wufei glanced at him surreptitiously. Heero was trying hard not to show it, but Wufei could tell that their meeting with the informant had really shaken him. He could hardly blame him. The meeting had left him feeling rather shaken as well.

The informant had been an unremarkable, slimy low-life in his mid-thirties. The story that he had relayed with a shaky voice had been sickening. Wufei barely repressed a shudder. It was unthinkable. Could there really be a kid chained to a bed in that place? Raped and tortured countless times daily, for who knows how long? Wufei grit his teeth as he recalled the man’s description of the room, a small, poorly lit cell. And the kid himself, huddled on the bed. Naked, a myriad of scars and bruises fully visible. The man said the kid looked up at him when the door was opened, and he had violet eyes. Violet. Wufei shook his head in disbelief. Chief Une had a couple of agents back at Headquarters pouring through missing persons files, trying to get an ID on the kid. How many missing kids with violet eyes could there be out there? The informant had guessed his age at thirteen or fourteen, but admitted that it was possible he looked younger than he was due to his thinness and his long hair.

Wufei pulled up behind the Specials surveillance van and shut off the engine. He and Heero stepped out of the car and walked up to the side of the van. Quatre slid the door back for them and they climbed inside.

"How’s it going here?" Wufei asked as Quatre returned to his seat. He looked at him more closely. Quatre looked decidedly queasy. "Are you feeling alright, Quatre?"

"Everything’s fine, and no, I’m not feeling alright," Quatre answered with a sigh. "This place is making me feel terrible. There’s so much pain and negativity here. And some of those people that have been coming and going to that place…." Quatre shuddered.

"You’re ready to infiltrate the target, Heero?" Trowa asked, taking in Heero’s casual clothes. Heero nodded, his face grim. "Did you find out much from the informant?"

"Yes. He gave me much information on the general layout of the building, and on this man, Trant, who’s the ‘caretaker’ there," Heero answered, his lips curling in disgust. He had never met the man, but already he hated him. The informant had relayed with a shudder how Trant seemed to really enjoy his ‘work’. "Wufei can fill you in on more details. I’m going in." Quatre nodded, and handed him a small transmitter, which he tucked away in his shirt pocket. The tiny device would pick up audio and transmit it to the van, so that the others would know if Heero needed assistance.

Heero exited the van and with a determined set to his mouth walked up to the door of 7881 Pine St. He entered the building and found himself in a lobby-like room, a buzzer sounding to announce his presence. After a few minutes a man entered the room from the door on the right, and Heero recognized him from the informant’s description as Trant. He suppressed a sneer of disgust.

"Can I help you?" the man asked.

"Yes," Heero said, "This place was recommended to me by a friend. It wasn’t really to his liking, but he thought that it was well suited to my… particular tastes. I’m here for some… entertainment." He cocked his head to the side and delivered the code message given to him by the informant. "Enjoyment is, after all, the fruit of life."

Trant’s face brightened now that he knew that Heero ‘belonged’. "Of course, of course! Right this way. My name is Trant," he said, motioning towards the door that he’d just entered from. Heero noticed that he did not ask him his name. Clients of a place like this would value anonymity, and would probably not be asked anything they did not volunteer themselves. "And, uh, just what did you have in mind?"

Heero followed Trant into the other room, where he recognized the setup for a rapid-testing machine. "Someone young, and… spirited." He looked at Trant pointedly, making sure that the man understood what he meant by ‘spirited’. He was grinning knowingly, and Heero’s dislike of the man was growing in leaps and bounds. "I’ve heard that you have someone special here that would meet my needs."

"We sure do. But first, we have to make sure you’re clean," Trant said, picking up a syringe. Heero obediently pulled up his sleeve and submitted to having his blood drawn. The vial was then placed in the testing machine. In less than five minutes, they would know if he had any sexually transmitted diseases. While they waited for the results, Heero listened to Trant list the ‘rules’.

"The rules for our prize attraction are different than the usual ones. First of all, you can do pretty much whatever you want to him, within certain limitations," Trant said with a grin. Heero was horrified, though he hid it well. It had been one thing hearing it from the informant. Some part of his mind had still held onto the possibility that such a thing couldn’t possibly be true. But to hear it for himself… he could no longer deny it. Trant continued. "Nothing that will kill him of course, and nothing that’ll put him out of commission for a while, either. Definitely nothing that’ll mar that pretty face of his permanently." Heero thought he might vomit. The blood test machine gave a small ding, signifying the all clear.

Trant smiled. "Great. Before I continue, there is the small matter of the fee to be discussed. Of course, you’ll get to see him for yourself before any payment exchanges hands. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed, though." He named the different prices for thirty, forty-five, and sixty-minute blocks of time, and said that longer periods of time could also be negotiated. Heero agreed to a thirty-minute session, should he find the boy ‘pleasing’ upon seeing him. "You’ll get the key to his ankle chain. You can leave him fairly loose, or effectively chain his ankle directly to the bedpost. There’s basic restraints attached to the other four bedposts." He grinned. Heero wished very much to remove that grin from his face permanently.

"For the more adventurous, there’s also another key," Trant continued. "For only an extra seventy-five credits, you can have access to our little toy cabinet, which is well-stocked with a wide variety of items, sure to make your experience even more enjoyable." Heero nodded, swallowing back the acidic taste of the bile rising up his throat. Trant opened another door and led him down a dark hallway. Heero mapped out their progress through the building in his head, confirming the details given to him by the informant. They passed another door.

"That’s our video room. We have a wide range of movies for rent or sale, starring our own attractions and clients willing to be filmed, their faces being blacked out after editing, of course. Our prize attraction is the star of a great many of the videos. Interested?" Trant asked, gesturing at the door. Heero shrugged indifferently. Trant nodded. They descended a flight of stairs and Heero found himself in some kind of waiting area. "If you would be so kind as to wait here," Trant said with a smirk. Heero nodded and took a seat. Trant disappeared down another hallway. Alone, Heero’s mind raced with all that had happened. It was true. It was really true. A person, a child, chained away in a basement room, his body sold to clients. It was monstrous. What kind of person had arranged this? It was obvious that Trant was not the mastermind here. Someone else was ultimately responsible for this horror. Heero’s jaw tightened.

Heero looked up as Trant returned, escorting a man in his forties. They were chatting amiably. Trant led the man upstairs and returned a few moments later, once again disappearing down the hallway. Finally, he reappeared and motioned for Heero to follow him. He was led past several doors to the end of the hallway and a heavy, locked steel door. Heero swallowed, suddenly feeling trepidation, but once again did not let it show.

"Now, just to remind you, feel free to hurt him, just nothing too serious, okay? And nothing permanent to the face," Trant grinned. It was all Heero could do not to slam the bastard into the wall. He forced a tight smile. Trant unlocked the door and swung it open, revealing the cell beyond. "This," Trant announced, "is Duo, our prize attraction."

* * * * * * * * * *

Duo suppressed a groan as the door once again swung open, so soon after the last customer had left. If Trant would just let him rest some. From where he lay huddled on the bed, he turned and looked towards the door, to see who Trant had brought to torture him next. It was someone unfamiliar, a new customer come to examine the goods. Duo shuddered inwardly. With the regulars he at least knew what to expect. He never knew how bad a new customer was, never knew if they might be another Tubarov, not until they were finished. He peered more closely at the newcomer, looking for some hint or clue to the man’s proclivities. Duo was surprised by what he saw. He was much younger than most of the men who frequented his cell. The young man stared back at him, transfixed, with stunning blue eyes.

"This," Trant announced, "is Duo, our prize attraction." Duo suppressed a wince. Hearing himself called a ‘prize attraction’ always made him feel like some kind of circus freak. He noticed that the stranger’s lips were slightly parted, his face slack with shock. He was also as white as a sheet. Duo eyed him in confusion. He was acting like he hadn’t expected to see… this. Like he was horrified, in fact, by what he was seeing. Duo pulled nervously on a stray lock of hair. The guy was agitating him. He wasn’t acting like he was supposed to. He fully expected him to turn and bolt like the man Trant had brought a couple of days ago.

"So?" Trant inquired with a smirk. Heero nodded dumbly, swallowing back the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat. He produced the agreed upon amount of money. Trant grinned and handed over two keys before disappearing out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

Left alone with the boy, Heero continued to stare at him with wide eyes. He was shocked. He had never been so shocked in his entire life. With horror and disbelief he took in the cell and its occupant. A naked bulb hanging from the low ceiling bathed the room in sickly yellow light. The walls and floor were bare stone. On either side of the door there was a sink and some shelves and the ‘toy’ cabinet. Next to the sink there was an alcove of sorts that upon closer inspection proved to be a shower. Then there was… the bed. Heero returned his gaze to the frightful sight, his jaw clenched tightly shut.

It was the size of a double, and constructed of heavy iron. The headboard and footboard consisted of iron bars that interlocked with each other in a square pattern. With a shudder Heero realized that it was probably ideal for attaching restraints. As if to confirm this, he saw the menacing-looking manacles hanging from three of the four bedposts. From the fourth bedpost, his eyes traced the path of the chain to the heavy manacle locked around a slim ankle. Heero’s eyes rested once more on the dismal cell’s occupant, Duo. His insides quaked with rage and horror at the sight.

The boy was regarding him with a wary and guarded expression, but Heero could practically smell his fear, intermingling with the other scents in the room. Semen, blood, sweat, all mixed together in the chill air, causing Heero to involuntarily wrinkle his nose. The boy’s eyes were a stunning shade of violet. Heero stared into their depths until the boy nervously looked away, tugging at a lock of chestnut hair. He looked young, so very young. Heero’s eyes ran over the bruises, the welts, the scars that marred his pale white skin, his nakedness revealing all. He thought his heart might burst. How could anyone do this to another human being, to a child? Heero had seen a lot in his short time as a Preventer, especially after being assigned to the Specials, but this… this was a horror he could barely wrap his mind around.

Duo squirmed. What was up with this guy? He was just standing there. Not that he wanted him to do anything. But it was just strange, the way he was looking around the room with that expression on his face, the horror-stricken glint in his eyes. He just wasn’t acting the way most of his customers did. It was like he didn’t belong. Duo fiddled with a lock of hair. The guy’s gaze was unnerving. Unconsciously, Duo began a low-key humming in the back of his throat, a nervous gesture he’d developed over the course of his confinement.

The humming noise broke Heero from his horror-struck reverie. Duo was tugging on a lock of hair, his eyes darting around the room. If Heero looked hard enough he could see the tremor that shook the boy’s slight frame. He was frightened. Heero couldn’t blame him. He thought Heero was here to… to add to the damage done to his body. Just the thought of it sickened him. He swallowed again, but was unable to rid himself of the lump that seemed to have taken up permanent residence in his throat.

"I’m not going to hurt you," Heero told him, in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. He was not used to comforting people. Duo looked at him sharply, disbelief plain on his delicate features. And why not? He had no reason to believe him. He was a customer. Customers… customers hurt him. Heero had to turn away, his brain threatening to overload at the horror of the situation. Mission, he reminded himself, focus on the mission.

With uncharacteristic clumsiness he fumbled with the keys in his hand and unlocked the ‘toy’ cabinet. This was reconnaissance, and he had to know what was inside. Even if a voice in the back of his mind was screaming at him that he really, really didn’t want to know. He braced himself and swung the doors open. It took all of three seconds for him to come to the conclusion that the voice was right. He really didn’t want to know. His jaw clenched so tightly that he thought he might grind his teeth to dust. The cabinet was well-stocked with ropes, cords, whips, crops, handcuffs, leather restraints, gags, blindfolds, vibrators, plugs… Heero closed his eyes, his rage threatening to overtake him. He wanted to run from this room, to find Trant and inflict a very slow and very painful death on him. He glanced at the kid again. The humming had stopped, and Duo was now openly staring at him, undoubtedly under the impression that he was at the cabinet to chose an item to torture him with.

"I said I’m not going to hurt you, and I meant it," Heero said, though he had little hope of being believed. He spotted what looked to be a baton of some sort in the bottom bin and picked it up to examine it more closely. His fingers hit a switch and the baton sparked to life. It was a stun baton, though Heero judged that it had been tampered with, the charge not seeming significant enough to render a person unconscious. A sharp intake of breath drew his attention back to Duo.

The boy had drawn back against the headboard, his arms wrapped around his legs in a protective posture. He was staring at the stun baton with such a look of unadulterated fear that it made Heero’s mind spin. Then, realization dawned, and Heero dropped the baton in sudden disgust, as if the thing had suddenly become hot to the touch. The reason it had been tampered with… to cause great pain without knocking a person out… it had been used to… to torture Duo… and Duo thought he was going to use it on him, too. Heero thought he might be sick.

The boy didn’t seem to be the least bit comforted now that the baton was no longer in his hands. His thin, ravaged body was visibly tensed, tremors racking his slight frame. His breath came in quick, uneven gasps. His eyes… his incredible violet eyes, were as wide as saucers, and blank with mindless terror. Heero’s mind quaked with rage at the idea of anyone using that thing on him. Mission, focus on the mission, he reminded himself. And he needed to calm Duo down, reassure him that he meant him no harm.

"I’m sorry about that, I don’t know what I was thinking," he said. Now the boy was giving him an incredulous look. Once again, he could hardly blame him. "My name is Heero," he continued. "So, is Duo your real name?"

Duo swallowed hard, not believing his ears. The guy was talking to him? Wanted to know his name? Why should he care? And why was he digging around in the toy cabinet if he wasn’t going to hurt him, as he claimed? And if he wasn’t going to hurt him (which Duo didn’t believe for one second), then what was he doing here? He realized the silence was stretching on, and that the guy might get angry if he didn’t answer him.

"It’s the only name I’ve ever known," he replied, his voice shaking. This was strange, so strange. Why wasn’t the guy doing anything? This had never happened before. Duo didn’t know what to do. He hugged his knees tighter, wincing at the pain in his body. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the guy, for fear that he would make some kind of sudden move.

Heero nodded as he shut the cabinet and locked it back up. He began a circuit of the room, examining everything more closely. He kept an eye on Duo to make sure he wasn’t causing him any undue stress. As if his just being there wasn’t causing the kid enough stress. He decided to try to keep them both distracted by continuing the conversation, while at the same time seeing what information he could get from him. He took a deep breath, forcing back all unnecessary emotions about the situation, and began to speak. "So how did you end up here anyway?"

Duo nearly choked. What the hell? No one had asked him that question before. Was it some kind of trick? Had Trant set this up to fool him? But why? He eyed Heero suspiciously. He seemed to be engrossed in examining the shower, giving Duo an occasional glance over his shoulder. Duo remained silent.

Heero was not surprised that the boy was reluctant to talk to him. It was probably pretty unusual for the… ‘people’ who came to see him to express interest in anything other than hurting him. He continued with the questions, though, because the silence would have prompted him to dwell too much on where he was and the circumstances of his being here. He wasn’t ready to do that yet. He didn’t know if he ever would be.

"Trant, is he the guy who brought you here?" he asked as he involuntarily wrinkled his nose with the realization that there was no bathroom, only what appeared to be a chamberpot under the bed. His circuit of the room had brought him to the foot of the bed. Duo looked less than pleased to have him so close. He got no answer to that question either. Heero sighed and examined the chain attached to Duo’s leg. The skin on his ankle was reddened and inflamed from the constant friction of the manacle. Heero’s heart felt heavy. From his closer vantage point his eyes once again traveled up Duo’s body, taking in the damage. He couldn’t believe what his eyes were showing him, nor how painfully thin the boy was. How the hell was he even still alive? His eyes came to rest on Duo’s face. Violet eyes returned his gaze with a mixture of fear, confusion, and curiosity. Heero’s chest ached.

"Just how long have you been here, anyway?" he asked, not really expecting Duo to answer him.

A strange feeling stirred in Duo’s chest, and he sat up a bit straighter. Could he really find out? Should he risk it? The guy really did seem to have no intention of touching him, as hard as that was to believe. And he was being asked all these questions, maybe he would be allowed a question of his own. He threw caution to the wind and decided to risk it.

"What year is it?" he asked in a small voice, and then braced himself, preparing for the anger that would surely follow his presumptuousness.

Heero raised an eyebrow in surprise, and nearly flinched himself when he saw that Duo feared a reprisal for his question. "It’s the summer of 195," he answered evenly.

Duo digested the information. He swallowed hard, his mind reeling. 195? God…. For some reason he couldn’t bring himself to look at Heero again. He closed his eyes. "I…," he began falteringly, "I’ve been here for… for six years…."