| Chapter 50 Nick stepped into Brian's room, giving Ana a half smile. Marie was asleep on the bed, and Howie was asleep in one of the chairs. "How is she?" he whispered. Ana shook her head, "Not good. She's so upset. We had to call the doc up to sedate her." Nick looked over at the sleeping woman, his heart breaking for her. Ana reached out and touched his hand, "How are you?" He shrugged, not knowing how to answer. So many emotions ran through him, he couldn't define them in words. Ana could see the worry and sadness in his eyes. She pulled him into a hug, "We'll find him, I know we will." Nick wrapped his arms around her, "I'm so scared Ana. He's hurt, and its my fault. I should've sent them all home .... if something happens to him I'll die." "Shhh, nothings gonna happen," she soothed, pulling back and looking at him, "Whoever has him will make their demands and we'll get him back." Nick sighed, running his hand through his hair, "That's just it Ana. What if I can't give them what they're asking for? What then?" She stared at him, that possibility never crossing her mind. "Then we'll find another way," she said, determined to be positive. Nick nodded, looking down at the floor, "I have to go back into the meetings and act like nothing's wrong." "You can't suspend them?" she asked. He glanced up at her and shook his head, "No. Until something happens, I'm to go on as if everything is just peachy," he said frustrated. "Who's decision was this?" she asked, stunned. "The council and mom," he answered, "They think it would be best." "And what do you think?" Ana asked. Nick shook his head, "I dunno what to think. All I want is my friend back." Ana squeezed his hand, "You know anytime you need me, all you have to do is say the word." He smiled at her, "I know, thank you." They both felt someone approaching and stepped apart as the door opened. Devon walked in, a worried expression on his face. "Is she alright?" he asked. "She's very upset. It's not good for the baby," Ana answered. Devon walked over and sat on the side of the bed, looking down at his sister. "How are you feeling?" Nick asked. He looked up, "I'm fine, just stunned. The doctors wouldn't listen to me though. They thought some of the scrapes I got were from the dogs so they kept me until just now." Nick nodded, turning to leave. He was already late for the meeting. "Your highness," Devon called. Nick stopped and looked back. "I'm sorry about Brian. I feel responsible......" he started. Nick shook his head and held up his hand, "It's not your fault. You did everything you could under the circumstances. It's my fault for keeping him here," he said, then walked out the door. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Three men walked into Brian's cell, the two that had given him the beating and an older, portly man. The older man looked at Brian, not happy with his condition. His face was bruised and swollen. Dried blood ran from his nose down one of his cheeks. Bruises graced his arms, and his ankle was swollen and bloody. He glared at the two men, "This is what you call taking care of him?! I told you to send a message to the king that we were serious, not beat him senseless! Has it escaped you that we need him alive?" the man scolded. The two men said nothing, staring at the floor. The older man walked over and felt Brian's forehead, looking back at the men, "He has a fever. You were told to clean the bite!" Both men jumped, not wanting to look the man in the eyes. "Get him cleaned up, and get some medicine in him. If he dies before we've gotten what we want, I'll hold you both responsible. Understand?!" the man seethed. "Y-yes sir," they both mumbled. "You have an hour, get to it," the man growled, leaving the cell. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kevin sat on his balcony watching the morning suns rise. He'd spent most of the night out here trying to get a grip on his emotions. He looked down at his hand and shook his head. He'd broken it in three places, and now wore the cast to prove it. He knew better then to punch a wall, but at the time it was the closest object to him, and he had to hit something. He hated this ... just sitting and waiting. He needed something to do, something to keep him occupied until they heard from the kidnapers. He got up and walked through his room. He set out down the hall in search of Nick. Nick was just stepping into the elevator. Kevin ran to catch up, "Wait!" Nick held the doors as Kevin ran in. "You hear anything yet?" he asked. Nick shook his head, looking very stressed and worried. Kevin sighed, "Ok, can I do anything to help with the search?" "No man, my people have it covered," Nick said. "I can't just sit around Nick, I need something to do," Kevin almost begged. "I'm sorry Kev," Nick said. Kevin thought for a minute, "What about the talks? Can I do something there?" Nick adamantly shook his head, "No. I have a bad feeling that's why Bri was taken. No, I'm not risking your safety just to occupy you." "Nick, I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself. Besides, If you don't let me do something I'll be forced to annoy you," Kevin said in all seriousness. Nick laughed as the doors opened and the two stepped out. Anthony was waiting on Nick, his arms full of papers. "Please Nick, I don't care what it is, just give me something," Kevin begged. Nick looked down the hall seeing the council and the ambassadors, then looked back to Kevin, "Alright, but you will not leave the palace, understand? That goes for the rest of the guys too." "Done," Kevin said, "What do you want me to do?" Nick took some of the papers from Anthony, "Find out what Kelah's connection is to Interstellar Distribution. I need to know what he's getting out of all this, and why's its so important." Kevin took the papers and thumbed through them, "Alright, I'll do what I can." "Thanks," Nick said, turning to Anthony, "Come on the frustration awaits." Anthony smiled as he followed Nick down the hall and into the throne room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Ouch!" Brian jumped as one of the men scrubbed his ankle. He had woken up while the men where cleaning him up. The man didn't even act like he'd heard him, continuing to scrub the raw flesh. Brian gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, forcing himself not to scream. Finally the man stopped, wrapping the wounded area with fresh bandages. Brian glanced back and forth between the two, wondering why they were suddenly taking care of him. They had brought him some food, which he picked at. He felt nauseous and tired, not having much of an appetite. He did drink the water he was given. He could tell he had a fever just by the way he felt, and wondered how he'd gotten sick. Brian then passed it off as his ankle getting infected. That had to be it, by the way the man was scrubbing it. The other man approached him, a shot gun in his hand. "What's that?" Brian asked. "Medicine," the man answered, grabbing him by the hair and yanking his head to the side. Before Brian could even get his hands up, the man had given him the shot and let go. Brian rubbed his neck for a moment, glaring at the man. Just then the door opened and an older portly man walked in. Brian stared at him. He was a little taller than Brian, with graying hair. Brian glanced at his mark, recognizing it as one of the high class. The man stepped up and handed Brian a blanket, "I'm sure you can use this." Brian slowly reached out and took it, not sure what to think about the man's kind gesture. "Thanks," he said as he wrapped the material around him. The man looked over at Brian's food tray, "You haven't eaten." "I'm not hungry," Brian replied. The man sighed, "You must eat or the poison will affect you faster." Brian felt a chill run down his back, "Poison? You poisoned me?!" The elder man laughed, "No. The war dogs bite is poisonous. That's why you have a fever." Brian looked over at the two men. They were standing back, awaiting further orders. "Why am I here?" Brian asked, looking back at the elder man. "You are here to assure we get what we want. When the king meets our demands, you will be released," he answered. "And what if he doesn't?" Brian asked. The man chuckled, "I believe you don't want to know the answer to that." Brian swallowed hard, pulling the blanket around himself tighter. The man looked at his watch, then glanced at the two men, "Bring him, it's almost time." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick sat in the throne room, seething. Just as he had expected, Kelah had refused the deal, siting it was one sided and not fair. He listened as Kelah ran through his so called solution. He had completely turned the deal to his favor, and Tunk was fuming. It was only by some miracle that the man hadn't jumped up and strangled Kelah. Nick glanced at Anthony, seeing the same expression on the young man's face. Where did Kelah get off demanding seventy-five percent of everything? His world was only supplying the labor. Tunk was the one baring the majority of the expense. "Stop .. Stop," Nick said, annoyed. Kelah stopped talking looking at him. Nick glared at him for a moment. "Why are you here?" he asked, shocking the man. "Excuse me?" Kelah asked. "I asked why you were here," Nick repeated, "Cause it's not to compromise on this deal. You agreed to this when it was proposed, now you come back and find it unfair. Why? Why must you send us back to square one? Are you stalling?" Kelah's mouth dropped open in shock and anger, "I would never......" "Then what are you doing?" Nick asked, interrupting him. Kelah glared at him, "How dare you insinuate that I ....." "Oh I'm not insinuating. I'm flat out asking, what's in it for you? Why do you want this so bad? And why are you stalling?" Nick spat. "Your highness," Mason said in a stern voice. Nick looked over at his uncle, "Don't tell me you don't see it? He's been stalling the entire time, and I wanna know why." The room sat in silence, waiting for Kelah to reply. Luckily the door opened and a servant walked in, "Pardon me your highness, but you are needed in the control room." Nick shot Anthony a look as he quickly got up and left the room. Leaving the council and ambassadors staring at each other. Nick ran down the hall, sliding around the corner into the room. LaDonna was there waiting on him. "What is it?" he asked. "The message is encrypted. Only you can open it," his mother said. Nick sighed, walking over to one of the stations and sitting down. He passed his mark over a sensor and watched as the screen revealed the image of Brian sitting at a desk, a piece of paper in his hands. He watched as Brian fidgeted with the paper, then cleared his throat and began to read. "By now you realize my kidnapers are serious. If you don't do what they ask, they will kill me," Brian read, stopping to glance into the camera. He sighed, looking back down, "You are to give the mine to the ambassador of Jeptim. No bargains, no compromises. One hundred percent of the mine is to be turned over. Failure to comply by the end of today's session will have disastrous results." Nick bit his lip, staring at his friend. He was so bruised and pale looking. He watched as Brian fumbled with the paper, then stared right at the camera, "Nick, don't do this. I'll be fine," he said before the camera cut off. Nick put his head in his hands, trying his best not to cry. "Fuck!" he yelled, looking over at his mother. She sighed, shaking her head. "I can't do it," Nick said, "I can't give them what they want." LaDonna walked over and took his hand in hers, "You're right, but maybe we can stall. Suspend the meetings, maybe fake being ill? That could possibly by us some time." "I've gotta tell the council what's going on. I'll never stall without their help," he said. She nodded, as he headed for the door. He grabbed a tech, "Go to the throne room and instruct the council and Anthony to meet me in my chambers." "Yes your highness," the man said, quickly leaving the room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian was on his hands and knees on the floor, holding his head. A swift punch in the temple was his punishment for his outburst. He tried to make the room stop spinning by closing his eyes for a moment. "Take him back to his cell," the older man instructed. Brian winced as the two men grabbed him and drug him back down the hall, only to open the door to his cell and push him inside. He hit the floor hard, looking back as the door shut. Brian struggled to his hands and knees and crawled to his bed, wrapping the blanket around himself, trying to will away the pain and the cold. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick stared at the council members, awaiting their reply. He had told them of the demands, and of his suspicions that Kelah was somehow involved with Interstellar Distribution. "I'm sorry you highness, but we cannot give in to these demands," Joseph said. Nick nodded, "I know, but can we stall? Do you think that would work?" "I don't know," Nathaniel said. Nick looked at his uncle, he was being awfully quiet. "Do you have any suggestions?" he asked. Mason shook his head, "I'm afraid not." Nick rubbed his face with his hands, the pressure eating at him. "What if I remove myself from the negotiations? Maybe appoint someone in my place?" he asked. The entire council shook their heads. Nick rolled his eyes, "Let me guess, it's not tradition?" "No," Joseph answered. "You know what? I don't give a fuck about tradition right now! All I care about is getting my friend back in one piece. There is no way I can go back to the talks and not be influenced by this. I have to take myself out of the picture," Nick said. "But if you do that, won't that put Brian at risk?" Anthony asked. "Yeah, if they realize they can't influence you, they may decide they no longer need him," Nathaniel said. Nick sighed, looking at them, tears welling up in his eyes, "Then what am I suppose to do? I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tunk and Kelah watched as Nick and the council came back into the room. Tunk could tell that Nick was deeply troubled, and wondered what had happened. Nick stepped up to the table, "Gentlemen, an urgent matter has arisen, and I'm afraid that I can no longer take part in these negotiations." "What?!" Kelah asked, shocked. Tunk just sat there, studying the young king. He wasn't lying to them, but he wasn't telling them everything either. Nick sighed, doing his best not to just rip Kelah in two. "I apologize, but this cannot be helped. Justice wouldn't be served if I stayed, my mind would be elsewhere. You may resume the negotiations without me. Anthony would serve as my proxy, or you may suspend them. That is up to you," Nick said. The two ambassadors glanced at one another, then looked at Anthony. "I have no problem with going ahead," Tunk said. "Well I do," Kelah spat, glaring at Nick, "I realize you are a young king, but this is highly unorthodox. My people will not negotiate with a servant." Nick slammed his fist on the table and Anthony grabbed his arm, keeping him from doing anything else. Nick took a deep breath, "Anthony is a member of the royal family and you will treat him as such. If you wish to move forward, you will deal with him. If not, you may leave anytime," he said as calmly as he could. Kelah glanced around the table, very agitated. "Fine, we move on," he finally said. Nick nodded, patting Anthony on the shoulder, "Stand your ground," he whispered. Anthony smiled and nodded. Nick left the room as Anthony sat down, "Now, since Ambassador Hatch disagrees with the deal before us, let's get started on a new one." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nick stood in the control room, his head in his hands. The guys milled around nervously, while Ana and the queen sat with Marie. Nick didn't want them here, but he couldn't tell them no. They all loved Brian too, and they had a right to see what would happen. It had been hours since Anthony had dismissed the days session. Nick asked him not to come, knowing that Anthony liked Brian and if he saw him hurt, it might influence him as well. Nick glanced over and looked at Marie. She looked pale and wracked with worry. She had her hands on her stomach, rubbing it every so often. Nick shook his head, this wasn't suppose to happen. Brian was suppose to be here to witness his child as it grew inside Marie. He closed his eyes again, willing away the tears. He had to keep it together. "Your highness, we are receiving a message," a tech said. Nick sat up, "Bring it up." The image of Brian laying in his cell appeared in the middle of the room. "Since you refuse to meet our demands, let me stress the seriousness of your actions," a voice sounded through the room. Nick bit his lip as the two men entered Brian's cell. Brian sat up as they approached him. One of the men had a small vile in his hand. "Oh no," Ana said, seeing the crystal blue liquid. "What is it?" A.J. asked. "It's Krystal," Marie answered, tears streaming down her face. The group continued to watch as the men grabbed Brian and held him down on the bed. Brian struggled, kicking and fighting as much as he could. One of the men grabbed his arms and held them down, while the other grabbed his hair, forcing his head back. Brian clamped his mouth shut when the man tried to pour the liquid into it. The man holding his arms was almost sitting on his chest, making it hard for Brian to breathe. The man holding his head climbed up on the bed and positioned Brian's head between his knees while he moved his hand down to Brian's nose and held it shut. Brian's face turned red as he held his breath, still struggling. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and had to breathe. He opened his mouth to suck in some air, and the man poured the liquid down his throat, then forced his mouth shut so Brian couldn't spit it out. Brian coughed and gagged as the man held his mouth shut. "Swallow it!" the man growled. Brian had tears running down his face. The man wasn't going to let him breathe until he'd swallowed the foul liquid. He squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed. The man grinned at the other as he let Brian go. Brian gasped for air, holding his throat. The liquid burned on its way down. Almost instantly, Brian began to feel the affects of the drug. He blinked his eyes several times, trying to make them focus. He broke out in a cold sweat and started shaking. The elation took over and Brian relaxed, giving in. Nick watched in horror as Brian closed his eyes, smiling, then he started to giggle. "Think about what you have done. We will be in contact soon," the voice said, then the image faded. Nick looked down at his hands, closing his eyes. He could feel the others stares on him. His decision had done this. He was the sole cause of the predicament Brian was in right now. Marie got up and left in tears. Everyone following after her, wanting to make sure she was OK. Nick heard them leave the room, but still didn't look up. He couldn't. He couldn't face them, knowing the pain he'd just caused. He jumped when LaDonna touched his shoulder. She cupped his chin in her hand and slowly pulled his head up to look at her. Nick's chin was trembling as he stared at his mother. "Let it out baby," she said. Nick blinked several times, tears leaving his eyes and sliding down his cheeks. LaDonna pulled him to her, holding him tight as he broke down. Chapter 51 |