Yours, Mine, Ours

A sideblog for the crossover of WEEKS by @scarletfish8eta and VILLAIN'S VIEW by @whumpsmith

[weeksxvillainsview]

WEEKS by Stab: Lavender abucts perfect little Thomas for a hefty ransom, taunting his boyfriend, his family, and the police while they try to hunt her down. When an old friend of Lavender's named Mateo shows up, Thomas is in more danger than ever before. Contains bondage, noncon elements, knife violence. Start reading here!

Villain's View by Max: Fetch is a mercenary with a variety of skills, so being hired to hold a teen for ransom isn't too out of the ordinary. But what if, after weeks of keeping him alive against all odds, that ransom doesn't get paid? CW: kidnapping, bondage, torture, stockholm/lima syndrome Read now on @villainsview!

Your Move, My Move and Our Move, aka Yours, Mine & Ours or YMO is the beautiful crossover lovechild between Weeks and VV

STAB (it/he/they)- artist and sometimes writer on tumblr as @scarletfish8eta (same username everywhere- deviantart, twitter, bsky, etc). Specializes in bondage and Guys In Distress!

Max (she/they), chronic reblogger on @whumpsmith (main), event participant on @whumpsmith-participates, also exists on deviantart and bsky.

Written and illustrated by Stab: Mateo hires Fetch to steal Lavender's hostage. She retaliates by stealing Fetch's hostage. Contains kidnapping, bondage, torture, knife/gun violence, mentions of SA.

COMPLETE! 15k words. also available on deviantart, wattpad, and pixiv. a full PDF compilation is also on gumroad and itchio.

Intro Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11

Written by Max and illustrated by Stab: Mateo recruits Daniel Delaney to get back at Fetch for abandoning his job. Delaney kidnaps Erick, and Fetch and Lavender team up to get him back. Contains kidnapping, bondage, torture, knife/gun violence, SA.

COMPLETE! also available on deviantart. You can also download all the art and timelapse videos on gumroad.

Intro story | art Chapter 1 story | art Chapter 2 story | art Chapter 3 story | art Chapter 4 story | art Chapter 5 story | art Chapter 6 story | art Chapter 7 story | art Chapter 8 story | art Chapter 9 story | art Chapter 10 story | art Chapter 11 story | art Chapter 12 story | art Chapter 13 story | art Chapter 14 story | art Chapter 15 story | art Chapter 16 story | art

Written by Max and illustrated by Stab: Delaney hires crooked cops to abduct Fetch as revenge for what happened in Our Move. Lavender hunts them down. Contains kidnapping, bondage, torture, knife/gun violence, mentions of SA. Writing complete, art 50% complete. currently only available to read on deviantart.

Intro story | art Chapter 1 story | art Chapter 2 story | art Chapter 3 story | art Chapter 4 story | art Chapter 5 story | art Chapter 6 story | art Chapter 7 story | art Chapter 8 story | art Chapter 9 story | art Chapter 10 story | art Chapter 11 story | art Chapter 12 story | art Chapter 13 story | art Chapter 14 story | art Chapter 15 story | art Chapter 16 story | art Chapter 17 story | art Chapter 18 story | art Chapter 19 story | art Chapter 20 story | art

YMO Character Guide

[villainsview]

Part 16

FULL ART by @scarletfish8eta

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“So this whole time he was kicking your ass you didn’t get a single word out of him about Erick?” Lavender asked, pacing outside the barn.

The smell inside was getting too bad.

“He wasn’t kicking my ass,” Fetch said, “I was doing fine until he started to fight dirty.”

“Poor kid must be wondering where everyone is by now,” Thorne commented, forcing the two to focus again.

“Delaney said Keller got out with Erick and continued on foot,” Fetch recited, “and he wasn’t all too far behind, which means Erick can’t be far either.”

“So what, we just fan out and search?” Lavender asked.

“Exactly,” Fetch said, “I’ll head north, Rhodes take east, Thorne you’re going south.”

“Can you even walk?” Thorne asked.

“I can walk just fine,” Fetch said, limping off north.

Thorne shrugged and headed in the opposite direction, leaving Lavender to quickly determine which way east was again and heading in that direction. She kept her eyes peeled, mentally going through everything she knew about Mateo.

Where would he hide a victim on a seemingly empty piece of land? He wouldn’t just leave him out in the open. The kid meant too much to his nasty ass. No, he’d leave him somewhere that would be secure enough for an hour or two. The barn would’ve been ideal, but they would’ve noticed if he were there. No, there had to be something else. She stopped walking and peered around, before spotting a small building of some sorts.

“Bingo,” she said, before hurrying over, veering into Fetch’s searching territory.

He spotted her running past, a bit surprised.

“Rhodes, you got something?” he asked, before limping after her.

Then he spotted the tool shed as well, and attempted to quicken his pace. Lavender was there first of course, knocking the latch off and pulling the door open.

“Got him!” she called.

The teen seemed to flinch at her shouting. He was blindfolded and gagged, tied tightly, trembling as he tried to squirm away, dressed only in some stupid white button-up shirt and black boxers, and still the same collar as in the first pictures Fetch had received.

“Out of my way!” Fetch finally caught up.

Lavender stepped aside. It was probably better if someone he trusted handled him right now. Fetch entered the shed, kneeling next to the teen and trying to pull him into a sitting position, but Erick only panicked, letting out a muffled cry as he shook his head and tried to pull away.

“Quit that, it’s me!” Fetch said, trying to undo the blindfold, “Erick! Stop!”

He had no choice but to grab the boy by his hair to hold his head still so he could get the blindfold off, after which he cupped his face in both hands, forcing him to look at him.

“I got you,” he said, “you’re gonna be okay.”

Erick peered at him. Either he couldn’t quite believe it, or something wasn’t right.

“He’s high as a kite,” Fetch concluded, beginning to undo the gag.

“That checks out,” Lavender said, “Mateo uses drugs to keep his victims in check. He gets them from Delaney.”

“Well they can’t hurt you anymore,” Fetch assured the teen as he pulled the last rag off, before helping him spit out the one in his mouth.

Erick coughed a bit, gasping for air before he began to sob.

“Y-y-you came…” he choked out, crying in relief.

“You really thought those idiots were a match for me?” Fetch said, checking the knots on the ropes, to which Lavender handed him her knife.

The handle was still a bit bloody, but Fetch didn’t mind at all as he took it and began sawing at the ropes.

“I-I didn’t stop…I-I kept fighting…” Erick sobbed.

“Yeah? Did you give ‘em hell?”

“Mhm…”

“Good boy,” Fetch said, sounding relieved as well as a little proud.

He managed to free him from the boxtie, to which he suddenly threw his arms around the man and hugged him, continuing to sob. Fetch paused, putting the knife down so he wouldn’t accidentally cut him and surprisingly gently wrapping his arms around the boy.

“Need a hand?” Lavender asked.

“Yeah, um…why don’t you go and grab my van?” Fetch said, “bring it over here, and there’s blankets in the wooden box against the wall.”

He actually handed her his keys. She could barely believe it.

“Now you’re letting me drive?” she asked.

“Do I look like I’m in any condition to drive?” Fetch said, “just get the damn van. And let Thorne know what’s up when you see her.”

“Alright, alright, jeez,” Lavender said, taking the keys and heading off. Fetch sighed, before trying to get the teen to dislodge from him.

“Erick, let go, come on. It’s okay, I just need to be able to move to cut the rest of those ropes.”

Erick reluctantly let go of him, trying to stop crying while Fetch freed him further. As he did so, Fetch took note of all the injuries he noticed. The welts on his thighs being the biggest it seemed, while others were mostly defensive wounds or bruises from being grabbed too hard. Either way it all indicated he really did put up a fight.

While he freed his legs, he noticed the boy tugging a lot on the hideous leather collar around his throat, so after throwing the last pieces of rope aside he quickly tried to take that off too, only to encounter the padlock.

“Hold still,” he said.

“O-off…t-take it off,” Erick pleaded, “I-I can’t breathe!”

“Put your head between your knees,” Fetch instructed, “and hold still, I’ll get it off.”

He helped the teen get into position before beginning to try and break the small lock, ramming it with the back of the knife, nearly bruising his own hand before the lock finally gave way. Fortunately these small locks were never really that strong anyway. He quickly tossed it into a corner before taking the collar off and throwing it away as well.

“Look at me,” he said, trying to take a better look at the teen.

As he suspected, the collar was hiding some bruising on his throat. That was probably going to be sore for a while…

“Come on, let’s get you to your feet,” Fetch said, recognising the sound of his van getting closer.

He almost needed the teen’s help to get to his own feet actually, but he bit through the pain again and helped the boy get to his feet, checking if he could stand before limping out of the tool shed together. Erick took a moment to take in the fresh air and the sun on his face, while Lavender pulled up in Fetch’s van and parked nearby.

“Ah, back on your feet already,” she said, getting out and walking up to the two, “Keira headed back to the barn for her bike,” she added to Fetch.

“L-Lavender?” Erick said, seeming to struggle to recognise her too.

“You sound surprised,” she said. “I couldn’t have found you without her help,” Fetch said, “you should thank her.”

Erick nodded, shuffling over to her, before suddenly hugging her as well. Lavender stiffened, a bit surprised by the action. But then again, the kid wasn’t exactly himself currently. She awkwardly tried to pat him on the back.

“There, there,” she said. “Um…Fetch?”

“It’s called a hug, Rhodes.”

“I know what a hug is, fucker, but he’s getting really heavy all of a sudden,” Lavender said, having no choice but to try and lower the boy onto the ground.

Fetch quickly joined them, checking the boy’s pulse and eyes.

“He’s just passed out,” he concluded, “probably exhausted and the drugs. We should ask Delaney what Keller used.”

“Um…about that,” Lavender slowly said, “when I headed back there for your van Delaney was gone. Took Mateo’s truck.”

“He escaped? When?”

“Probably just now?” Lavender said with a shrug, “it’s…it’s fine though. He’s not a threat…not without Mateo to back him up.”

“Right,” Fetch said, “help me get him into the van and let’s get the fuck out of here. Make a quick stop at the barn to discuss Thorne’s payment and then back to the cabin so I can treat you both.”

“Who’s gonna treat you then?” Lavender asked, “you look like shit.”

“You don’t have to keep telling me that, I’ll be fine,” Fetch grumbled.

With mostly Lavender’s help, they managed to get the teen settled in the back of the van, wrapped in a soft blanket to keep him comfortable for now. They returned to the barn, where Fetch agreed with Thorne to contact her as soon as they had Virgil’s ransom, having to promise her it would be a decent sum, while Lavender got off without debt, and another business card…or rather, a phone number on a scrap of paper, with some red lipstick smeared on the back.

“So you know it’s mine,” she explained, “I never sign with my name. It’s too uncertain where it’ll end up some day.”

“Cool,” Lavender just said, pocketing the paper, “I’ll text you later so you’ll have my number too. Let me know if Fetcher doesn’t come through with the money. I’ll beat some sense into him.”

“Heh, good girl,” Thorne said, “you keep those men in check now, okay? Without our guidance they’ll only cause trouble.”

“Tell me about it,” Lavender said, rolling her eyes.

“Hey, this was your mess in the first place!” Fetch said.

“Which you wouldn’t have been involved in had you kept your hands off of Thomas!” Lavender reminded him.

“Know your place, Fetcher,” Thorne added, “take care now, Lavender.”

The two women exchanged a fist bump before parting ways. Thorne got onto her somewhat scratched up motorcycle, and Lavender climbed back into Fetch’s van to drive it back to the cabin.

Erick remained out cold for a good day, only waking up with some delirious babbling and for a sip of water before passing out again. Fetch’s injuries weren’t so bad in the end, and he claimed to be good as new after some ice and a good bandage for support, even though he still limped and asked Lavender to do most of the heavy lifting, aka looking after Virgil.

Though when they could finally exchange him for his ransom the next day, Fetch insisted on doing that by himself, even after she went through the trouble of tying him up and dragging him into his van.

“Why can’t I just come with you?” she said.

“I need you to look after Erick, I don’t want him to be alone when he wakes up,” Fetch said.

“Then you stay with him,” Lavender said.

“And have you run off with all the money? Hell no,” Fetch said, “besides. How’s your hand?”

“My hand is fine,” Lavender said, scratching the support bandage a bit.

“Ice it, you’ll feel better,” Fetch said, “I’ll text you when I’ve met up with Thorne so you’ll know when I’m on my way back.”

“If I find out you pay her with my share I’ll hire her to kill you,” Lavender warned.

“I won’t touch your money,” Fetch said, rolling his eyes a bit before driving off.

Lavender scoffed, a bit annoyed that she was back on babysitting duty before heading back inside. They’d made Erick comfortable on the sofa in the living room, so they could keep an eye on him most of the time. Lavender fixed herself something to eat, before begrudgingly admitting that some ice on her hand did feel a lot better as she settled down in the chair next to the sofa.

When Erick finally came to again, she was still there, scrolling through some news website, wondering if they would ever mention finding Mateo’s body…if they would ever find it. She’d noticed Erick stirring a bit, but didn’t think much about it, as he’d been like that since yesterday.

But he was awake. Sort of. His vision still dancing from fatigue and having slept too long. He noticed a figure nearby, trying to recognise who it was, but failed to remember much. Someone female…

“...mom?”

Lavender looked up from her phone. Did she hear that right? She looked over at Erick, who was peering at her. Without a word, she picked up his half-empty glass of water and splashed the contents in his face. Erick spluttered, quickly sitting up as he rubbed his eyes and brushed his hair out of his face, finally looking actually awake.

“W-what? Where?”

“Relax, you’re safe,” Lavender said, putting the glass down.

“L-Lavender! W-what happened?”

“You don’t remember?” Lavender asked, offering him a sip of her lemonade.

He shook his head, gingerly taking the glass and taking a couple small sips.

“Nothing at all?” she pressed.

Erick looked down, handing the glass back and fumbling with the edge of his blanket a bit, folding it back and straightening and adjusting it while he softly spoke up.

“I-I was in the bathroom,” he said, “that Delaney guy came in and dragged me out…a-and then he was there. Th-they made me take some pills and after that…I-I don’t remember anything after that.”

“...do you remember when you first took the pills?” Lavender asked.

“Um…”

He accidentally creased his fold and started over.

“I-I think before he was going to meet you? The morning of?” he said. “W-why, what does that mean?”

“Means he didn’t have the time to do anything serious,” Lavender said, “what about Delaney?”

“...I don’t want to talk about that,” Erick said.

“Of course,” Lavender said, “but it’ll probably make you feel better that I fucking decked him.”

She held up her bandaged hand as proof. Erick nodded, managing a small smile. That did make him feel a lot better. In the short silence that fell, they could both suddenly hear the boy’s stomach growl. Loudly.

“Christ, when’s the last time you ate?” Lavender asked.

“Um…n-not sure…”

“Of course he’s as bad as Mateo,” Lavender groaned, “okay hang in there, I’ll cook you something. Any wishes?”

“...g-grilled cheese?”

“Ah, you’re in luck. That’s my specialty!”

She ended up using up all the cheese, making a decent stack of grilled cheese sandwiches which Erick wolfed down, giving him the hiccups, which then gave Lavender something to tease him with until Fetch finally returned. He took a moment to give Erick a check-up, before sending him upstairs to take a shower. Lavender waited for him to have gone up, while Fetch settled down with a cigarette and a cup of coffee.

“So…my money?” she asked.

“Large bag by the door,” Fetch said, “they’re all small bills so you can spend them wherever.”

“Sweet,” Lavender said, going to retrieve the bag.

She put it on the coffee table, nearly knocking over Fetch’s cup before zipping it open.

“Very sweet…”

She closed the bag again, slinging the strap over her shoulder.

“Welp, that concludes business then,” she said.

“Wait. What?” Fetch said.

“It was the deal,” Lavender said with a shrug, “we deal with Mateo, we ransom off Virgil, and then we part ways.”

“Just like that?” Fetch asked, getting up.

Lavender shrugged.

“Yeah? Unless you need me for something else?”

“No,” Fetch said, “I don’t need you…I just want you.”

Lavender smirked, stepping over. She took his cigarette, extinguishing it in his coffee before pressing a kiss on his cheek.

“Hold that thought,” she said, “it’s a small world. We’ll meet again.”

“You’ll know where to find me,” Fetch said, “until then…goodbye, Lavender.”

“Until next time, Chase,” Lavender replied, before heading off.

She quietly slipped out the front door and began walking down the road. He watched her leave through the window, as she slowly disappeared from sight. He knew they would meet again. What he didn’t know, however, was that she had slipped his wallet from his pocket when she kissed him. And by the time he realised, she was already long gone.

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[villainsview]

Part 15

FULL ART by @scarletfish8eta

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After getting out of the car with Erick, Mateo carried the boy over his shoulder as he walked to the meeting place, keeping his eye open for a hiding place. Eventually he came across a tool shed with a rusty latch, but no lock. He pulled the somewhat rotten door open, and found there was no way to open the latch from inside. Perfect.

He dropped the teen on the dirt floor, checking if he was still breathing before closing the tool shed and making his way to the barn in the distance.

He approached quietly, sneaking up to the rackety building and staying close to the wall as he followed the sound of voices. It sounded like they were arguing, which didn’t surprise him. Lavender never got along with anyone.

He stayed a little closer to the ground, heading around the barn and trying to get a view on the situation. Delaney was on the ground, and both Lavender and Fetch had their backs turned to him. They were arguing about a gun it sounded like. He saw no one else around, so this was his chance.

He pulled out his own gun, checked he had enough bullets, before walking up to the pair while they were distracted.

“Shut up Delaney!”

“Just give me the gun, I’ll try to hit him in the knee or something!”

Mateo raised his gun, pushing it right against the back of Fetch’s head as he spoke up.

“Why don’t you give me the gun?”

He grinned as they were both taken completely by surprise. Lavender was glaring daggers at him, but there was nothing she could do.

“Son of a bitch,” Fetch said, feeling the barrel against his head.

“Take your gun by the barrel and hand it to me,” Mateo instructed, “keep facing forward.”

“Don’t do it!” Lavender said.

“You’d rather see me blow his brains out right away, chica?” Mateo said.

“It’s alright,” Fetch assured her, handing over his gun, “I guess he needs this to feel somewhat bigger.”

Lavender could’ve laughed, but Mateo seemed furious, and then he smirked, which made her even more uncomfortable.

“I can see where your boy gets his attitude from,” he said.

Fetch threw all care in the wind and turned around. Mateo stepped back, just to be sure.

“Not so fast!”

“You’re bluffing,” Lavender said, “Delaney had him the whole time.”

“Then why am I here?” Mateo said, smirking back at Fetch, “I told you. He cried your name all night long.”

“I’m not going to give you the satisfaction of killing me while I’m angry,” Fetch said, surprisingly calmly.

In fact, he pulled his pack of cigarettes out of his pockets and lit one.

“What the fuck,” Delaney said quietly.

Lavender gave him a kick to shut him up again while Mateo attempted to regain control of the situation.

“Let Daniel go, chica,” he said, “or I won’t let your boyfriend finish his last smoke.”

“Boyfriend?!” Lavender repeated.

“What is she, twelve?” Fetch said, “a woman her age is either sleeping with someone or not.”

“Are you?!” Delaney asked.

“Shut up!” Lavender, Fetch and Mateo said in chorus.

“Just step away from him!” Mateo added.

“No!”

“Rhodes, let him go, it’s fine,” Fetch said.

“Yeah, listen to the adults, chica,” Mateo added.

“I’m not a child,” Lavender said through gritted teeth, pressing down a little harder on Delaney instead.

“Well then,” Mateo said, turning back to Fetch, “you know who to blame.”

Bang!

It felt like her heart dropped straight into her stomach. Her breath stocked. She couldn’t stop herself closing her eyes, afraid to open them again and see the truth. There was a yell of pain. It didn’t sound like Fetch at all. Something heavy fell on the dirt, but not as heavy as an adult man.

“Fucking hell! What was that?!”

“Run Mateo! It’s a sniper!” Delaney yelled.

“Bout time…”

She opened her eyes upon hearing Fetch’s voice. He was alive. The gunshot wasn’t Mateo’s. It was Thorne’s. She’d finally done her damn job. And good too. Mateo’s hand was bleeding, his gun on the ground.

Fetch flicked away his half-finished cigarette and rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to fight. Mateo decided to take Delaney’s advice and ran to the cover of the barn. A sniper couldn’t hit you if they can’t see you, right?

“I’ll get him for you, you take care of Delaney,” Fetch said, before running after Mateo.

Lavender cursed, but he was right. It was the best course of action. Besides, she already had Delaney under her control. She finally lifted her muddy boot off of him, leaving a dirt stain on his shirt.

“Get up,” she said, grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him to his feet, beginning to drag him to Mateo’s truck.

Surely he had something useful stashed away.

“Did you do it?” Delaney asked.

“What?” Lavender said.

The fuck was he on about?

“Did you sleep with Fetcher?”

“None of your fucking business!” Lavender said.

“You’re wearing the same clothes,” Delaney pointed out, “I think I can understand why. He has a certain…charisma! ...do you think he’d be open to a three-way—”

She drove her knee into his gut to shut him up and to hold him still before dealing with his ass. But on the other hand…

“I’ll ask him,” she said, “if you tell me where Erick is.”

“Urk…I-I don’t know…he got out with him before we got here…continued on foot,” Delaney said, “do you think he’ll say yes?”

“You didn’t tell me shit, so I’m not asking,” Lavender said, dashing his recently acquired dreams.

She didn’t care, however, reaching the back of Mateo’s truck and searching. She found some short pieces of rope, a spare belt, an old sock, and a five dollar bill. Yoink.

“So you’re not even going to think about it?” Delaney asked.

“Oh my God shut up,” Lavender sighed, slamming him against the side of the truck and beginning to tie his hands behind his back.

He didn’t resist much. He even groaned softly.

“Hm~ You’re good at this~”

“Dude! Gross!” Lavender said, smacking the back of his head.

Once his hands were secured, she wasted no time shutting him up, using the old sock.

“Open up,” she said, after turning him around so they were facing each other.

“Um…d-do you have any idea where that thing could’ve been?”

“Not my problem,” Lavender said with a shrug, before forcing the sock between his teeth.

Delaney gagged, but at least he finally stopped making terrible comments. She used one of the ropes to keep it in place, threading it between his teeth as well. It probably wouldn’t last long, but it was something. She shoved him against the ground again, tying his ankles next before taking out her knife and pressing it against his cheek.

“You’re lucky I ran out of rope,” she said, “don’t move from this spot or I’ll hunt you down and cut up your stupid face!”

Delaney quickly nodded in understanding, but he still couldn’t help but to admire her passion, and he was sad to watch her go as she chased after Fetch and Mateo. She even snatched up Mateo’s gun, in case she couldn’t get close enough to stab his ass.

Meanwhile Fetch had followed Mateo into the barn, having to use whatever he could grab to stop him from reaching for his gun. His own damn gun. Getting shot by his own gun was not how Fetch planned to die. Ever. Even if that meant accidentally knocking over Thorne’s motorcycle in the struggle and risking getting killed by her instead.

“Just give up already!” Mateo said frustrated, trying to pin the other man down, but Fetch grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it in his eyes, before punching him.

Mateo recoiled, giving Fetch a chance to kick him off and get back to his feet.

“Why don’t you give up?” he said, catching his breath a bit, “you picked a fight you can’t win, there’s no shame in it…”

“Who said I can’t win?” Mateo said, reaching for the gun again.

Fetch had no choice but to charge at him. They hit the wall, the rusty tools mounted to it clattering. Mateo cursed, trying to push Fetch off. He backed away a step, raising his arm to throw another punch.

Mateo blindly grabbed whatever he could reach, tearing it from its rusty hook and swinging it at Fetch. He had to interrupt his punch to shield his head, leaving his side wide open. Another swing, and he hit him on the side of his chest. Fetch cursed under his breath as he felt his ribs crack. He had to retreat a couple steps, get out of range, but Mateo took another swing, hitting his knee, and he went down.

“Finally,” Mateo muttered as he pulled out Fetch’s gun and aimed it at him, “any last words, Fetcher?”

“MATEO!”

Lavender finally caught up, standing in the door opening, holding his gun, and aiming it at him. Fetch was on the ground. That didn’t seem right. She had to do something.

“Put that thing down, chica, you don’t know what you’re doing,” Mateo said.

“Stop telling me what I know or don’t know!” Lavender snapped, “you don’t get to tell me shit anymore!”

“Yet I am the one standing!” Mateo said.

“You fight dirty…” Fetch pointed out, half his body throbbing in pain, but he pretended to be fine.

“Shut up you,” Mateo said, arming the gun with the familiar click.

Lavender had to act fast. How hard could firing a gun at a person be? She aimed at his chest, easy target, and pulled the trigger… The gun clicked. No loud bang. No bullet hitting Mateo. Just a lame-ass click. She cursed, but she didn’t even have the time to say it out loud.

Without thinking, she started moving. She threw the useless gun at Mateo, surprising him. The heavy piece of metal hit him in the eye. He stumbled back, changing his aim from Fetch to Lavender as she was charging at him, and fast. She was already holding her new knife, ducking underneath the gun, and driving the knife into his stomach.

Mateo cursed, trying to push the woman off, but she pushed him against the wall, driving the knife deeper, before pulling out. She pinned his arm against the wall, causing him to drop the gun, before sinking the knife right between his ribs instead. He let out a satisfying cough, gasping for air but his lung only filled with blood. She pulled out again, before aiming for his other lung.

Blood streamed over her hands and arms, but she kept going. Again. And again. And again. And once more. His knees gave in, and she pulled out a last time, watching him collapse on the floor and proceeding to bleed out further.

Silence…silence besides her own heartbeat and breathing. The warmth of his blood on her hands slowly faded, her fingers stiff and cold as she clamped them around the handle of her knife.

“Rhodes,” Fetch said, attempting to sit up with a groan.

She didn’t seem to hear him.

“Rhodes,” he repeated, looking for something to pull himself up.

She still didn’t respond.

“Rhodes— Ah fuck…”

He gave up on trying to pull himself up. Was she in shock?

“Lavender!”

She snapped awake, taking a shaky breath as she processed what happened. Mateo was on the floor, he wasn’t moving and there was a lot of blood. Blood was on her hands, her arms, her knife. She cleared her throat in an attempt to find her voice.

“Is…is he…?”

“Check his pulse,” Fetch said.

“How?”

“Put your hand on his throat, just below the jaw,” Fetch said, “you should feel a thumping.”

Lavender nodded, wiping her knife on her shirt before putting it back in its sheath on her belt. She carefully stepped closer to Mateo, half-expecting him to suddenly jump up. She kicked Fetch’s gun out of his reach, just in case he would, before crouching down and feeling his throat.

“I don’t feel anything,” she said.

“Is he breathing?”

“Nope.”

“Then you killed him,” Fetch said, “congratulations.”

“Holy shit,” she said, sitting down next to Fetch, “I did it…”

“I thought this wasn’t your first?” Fetch asked.

“Curtis was still crying when I left,” Lavender said, “I guess it didn’t feel real…”

“Take off your shirt,” Fetch said.

Lavender frowned, turning her head to look at him.

“You look like shit,” she said, “you wouldn’t survive another round of—”

“Not for that, woman, I cracked a rib I think,” Fetch said, “it’s covered in blood. Take it off and wipe your hands on it.”

“Oh, right. Sure.”

She took off the plaid shirt, which she had stolen from Fetch in the first place, and wiped her hands on it, before tossing it at Mateo’s lifeless form, leaving her only in a tank top.

“Alright, now help me up,” Fetch said, “let’s get the fuck out of here.”

“He really got you good, didn’t he?” Lavender asked, getting to her feet herself, before reaching out a hand to help Fetch up.

“Just fucked up my arm and sprained my knee, I’ll be fine in a couple days,” Fetch assured her, taking her hand to get up, but she suddenly let go, dropping him back on the floor.

“Fuck— Rhodes!”

“Sorry, wrong hand,” Lavender said, “think I cracked it when I decked Delaney.”

She offered her other hand, and with some effort managed to get the man to his feet. He carefully tried to stand on his injured leg, deciding to just bite through the pain for now.

“You good?” Lavender checked.

“I’ll live,” Fetch said, “you?”

“Never better,” Lavender said, “here.”

She picked up Fetch’s gun and handed it to him. He thanked her, sticking it between his belt on his back. Meanwhile the barn doors opened as Thorne joined them. Grimacing a bit at the amount of blood.

“So messy,” she said, “but glad to see you’re alive.”

“Why the fuck did you wait so long before shooting?” Fetch asked, “he could’ve killed me a dozen times before you finally took him out!”

“There was a squirrel on my barrel, blocking my scope,” Thorne said,

“I got him in the end though. And you two finished the job, like we agreed on. Enjoy your freedom, Lavender.”

“Yeah…freedom,” Lavender said, the realisation beginning to kick in.

But something wasn’t quite right just yet.

“Now then,” Thorne continued, “before we discuss my payment, not even to mention the damage to my bike…aren’t you two forgetting someone?”

Fetch and Lavender looked at each other as it dawned on both of them.

“Erick!”

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[villainsview]

Part 14

FULL ART by @scarletfish8eta

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Delaney returned to his guestroom carrying several coils of ropes, finding Mateo pinning Erick down on the bed, trying to feel him up. Keyword trying.

“You okay?” Delaney asked, watching how Mateo almost caught an elbow to the face.

“He’s giving me a workout,” Mateo said, panting a bit while twisting the teen’s arm on his back.

“Ow! Fucking— Get off!”

Erick’s shouting was muffled by the bedsheets his face was pressed into, but it wouldn’t have stopped Mateo regardless.

“Let’s get you trussed up nice and tight for the road,” he said, “what do you think, Daniel? A chest harness?”

“You’d have to get him to sit still long enough,” Delaney said.

“Check my pocket,” Mateo said, “I brought a lil something to help calm him down.”

“I’m not fucking taking anything!” Erick protested, trying to kick Mateo, but he had his knees right on his legs, painfully so.

“He really is spirited,” Mateo said with a laugh, while Delaney fished a little baggie of pills from his pocket.

“Are these from me?” he asked, moving towards the bathroom to grab some water.

“Heh, were else would I get the good stuff?”

“You want him to take one or two?” Delaney called from the bathroom.

“Let’s say two,” Mateo said when his friend stepped back into the room, “knock him out good.”

“No!” Erick hissed, but Mateo grabbed his hair and shoved his face back into the mattress.

“Quiet, boy!” he said, holding him down until Delaney returned.

“You ready?” he asked, opening the baggie and shaking out two pills.

Mateo nodded, adjusting his hold to turn the teen around. Erick kept up his struggle, trying to push Mateo off of him, but he was significantly bigger and stronger, catching his wrists above his head, pinning them down again with one hand, while grabbing hold of his jaw with the other. Delaney helped pry his mouth open.

“Remember the wine,” he warned, before slipping the pills into his mouth.

Erick whined, but Delaney just poured the water in and Mateo adjusted his grip to cover his mouth.

“These take a while to work, don’t they?” Delaney asked, watching the boy struggle before finally giving in and swallowing.

“Yeah, ‘bout half an hour,” Mateo said, removing his hand so the teen could cough a bit, “you know normally now is when the fun begins, but unfortunately we don’t have that kind of time, so let’s get started on the basics and finish the rest when he conks out.”

“Cough! S-stop!” Erick pleaded, trying to pull his hands free, but Mateo just laughed.

“You’re cute,” he said, “I really can’t wait to get to know you better, but I have some business to take care of first.”

“Fetch will kick your ass!”

“We’ll see about that. Daniel, why don’t we start with a gag?”

“What did you have in mind?” Delaney asked.

“You know what I like,” Mateo said.

Delaney nodded.

“I’ll be right back.”

Mateo nodded, turning his attention back to the struggling teen, putting a hand on his cheek.

“Now, before you pass out, let me have a little taste…”

“I’ll bite!” Erick warned, turning his head away.

Mateo didn’t let that stop him, still trying to get closer. Erick managed to shake his hand off and tried to headbutt him…and succeeded. His forehead collided with the man’s chin, and while he recoiled Erick managed to wring his hands free.

He wasted no time, squirming from underneath the man and trying to make for the door, since Delaney left it open. But something wasn’t right. Whether it was fatigue catching up, the hangover, or the pills he was just forced to take, his vision danced after he scrambled to his feet. In his dizzy state, he bumped against the door frame and collapsed outside the door. He tried to get to his feet again, but before he got his chance, someone grabbed the back of the collar and began dragging him back into the room.

“You’re going to regret that,” he said, throwing the teen against the side of the bed.

Erick gasped for air as the collar had been choking him again, before throwing the man a glare.

“I only regret not hitting you harder,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Hmm~ Keep that up, I love a spirited challenge,” Mateo said, “it’s so refreshing~”

Erick glanced around for another escape, but then Delaney returned, closing the door behind him this time. Erick considered his options, with the little information he had. He knew Delaney was supposed to meet up with Lavender today, she promised she and Fetch were working on something.

But Keller was here now. Delaney hadn’t mentioned him once, or even threatened him, so his being here was a complete surprise. His only escape route had been cut off, so there was really only one option left… Trust Lavender.

If she was really working with Fetch, things would be okay…hopefully. He dialled back on resisting, letting the two men gag him. Delaney had brought back a couple pieces of cloth. Mateo seemed to take great pleasure in stuffing one of them in the teen’s mouth, leaving him with the horrible flavour combination of his fingers and perfumed cotton before another cloth was pulled between his teeth and tied behind his head.

“I think it’s already working,” Delaney commented, noticing the boy’s decreased resistance.

“No, I think he’s just realised it’s a waste of energy to keep fighting,” Mateo said, stroking the boy’s hair before grabbing it, “did you bring a blindfold?”

“Yup.”

“Mghh…”

Erick whined weakly, Mateo holding him still while Delaney blindfolded him. Then it felt like Delaney held his arms down while Mateo tied another rag over his mouth, and another over his nose, covering the lower half of his face. It was hard to breathe, he felt dizzy again, but he wasn’t sure what the cause was.

They pulled him to his feet and bent him over on the mattress, tying his hands behind his back. More ropes wrapped around him, hands sometimes wandering to different places, but Erick soon learned that not struggling got them to stop faster than struggling a little.

Eventually he stopped completely, he was tired.

So tired...

“I think he passed out,” Delaney commented.

“Yeah that checks out,” Mateo said, “let’s finish the chest harness. And then we ought to get going. They’ll get suspicious if you’re late.”

“We’re going in together?” Delaney asked, helping Mateo pull the teen up in a sitting position, and holding him in place so Mateo could apply a rope harness.

“I’ll get out before they can see me, take the boy with me and hide until the time is right.”

“So I’m going in alone without leverage?” Delaney asked, not sounding much happier about this plan.

“You have all the leverage, Daniel. You know where their kid is,” Mateo said, “they can’t do anything to you until you give that up.”

“...they could hurt me??” Delaney pointed out, “Lavender I don’t mind, but that guy could kill me.”

“Just don’t tell them he’s with me, or that we met this morning and you’ll be fine,” Mateo assured him, “I promise I’ll catch up before they can hurt you. I’ll get the drop on Fetcher, eliminate the biggest threat. Lavender will be easy after that.”

“So I’m just the distraction?” Delaney asked.

“And you’ll be great at it,” Mateo said, smacking him on the shoulder encouragingly, “we’ll take my car. Open the door for me.”

He hoisted the unconscious teen over his shoulder and carried him outside to his truck.

As agreed on, Delaney drove Mateo’s truck, the man in question riding in the back with Erick. About ten minutes away from the barn where they were supposed to meet up, Mateo got out, carrying Erick with him, and went to find a hiding spot while Delaney continued, driving towards the barn and the two figures waiting out front.

They were tense, especially when Lavender recognised Mateo’s truck, but she also recognised Delaney as he pulled over and got out alone. Fetch refused to take any chances and pulled out his gun, aiming it at Delaney.

“You alone?” he asked.

“Don’t shoot,” Delaney said, “or I’ll never be able to tell you where your kid is.”

“Check the truck,” Fetch said, keeping his gun trained.

“Me?” Lavender asked.

“No the Easter Bunny— Of course I was talking to you,” Fetch grumbled.

Lavender shrugged. She was just making sure. She headed towards the truck, stepping past Delaney.

“What do you see in him?” he asked.

“Not being a loser is a nice bonus.” Lavender said, moving to check inside the truck, but it was empty, “Not here!” she reported, before turning back to Delaney, “You stole Mateo’s truck too?”

“Borrowed,” Delaney corrected, “then shit happened…can I just say you look stunning?”

Lavender rolled her eyes at him, planning to ask Fetch to shoot him, when she noticed something. Without a warning, she grabbed Delaney by the front of his shirt, shaking him.

“Didn’t I fucking tell you?!” she yelled.

“Rhodes, you’re in my shot,” Fetch said.

“You’re beautiful when you’re angry—”

Wham!

Lavender punched him in the face. Something cracked, but she wasn’t sure if it was him or her.

“What happened to your face?!” she yelled, stopping him from falling over.

“Y-you just hit it…”

“Before that, you moron! Where is he?!”

“Somewhere safe!” Delaney quickly said as Lavender shook him again “we had a little altercation before you called and he cracked my lip, but that’s all I swear!”

“Answer the question, Delaney!” Fetch said, arming his gun with a distinct click, “Where’s Erick?”

“Hidden!” Delaney quickly said, “so don’t shoot if you want a chance of finding him again!”

“I could stab him,” Lavender suggested.

“If that’s the price to be close to you—”

“Nevermind,” Lavender quickly said, throwing him on the ground and wiping her hands on her shirt.

“You were right, he is weird,” Fetch said.

“I told you so,” Lavender said.

“Lavender, please,” Delaney started, trying to get up.

“Stay down,” Lavender said, putting her foot on his chest and pushing him back down, but that didn’t hold him back.

“I didn’t think we’d have an audience doing this, but if that’s what you’re into~”

“Fetch, give me your gun, I’ll shoot him myself.”

“I’m not letting you waste your first kill on that piece of shit,” Fetch said.

“Yeah…might’ve already done that,” Lavender said, “you remember Curtis?”

“The guy you skinned?” Fetch asked.

“Yeah. Seems hard to survive if you ask me. Unless you called him an ambulance?”

“No, he was pretty much going into shock when I left him where I found him,” Fetch said.

“So, he’s dead. Now give me the gun,” Lavender said.

“You mean the chatty guy that Mateo is always complaining about?”

“Shut up, Delaney!” Lavender and Fetch said in chorus.

“Just give me the gun, I’ll try to hit him in the knee or something,” Lavender said.

“Why don’t you give me the gun?”

Lavender whipped her head around at the familiar voice, finding Mateo had managed to sneak up on them and was pressing his gun against the back of Fetch’s head. So much for backup it seemed.

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[villainsview]

Part 13

FULL ART by @scarletfish8eta

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The next morning, Delaney got up early. Lavender texted him after dinner to let him know where and when to meet, and it seemed he had about a two-hour drive ahead of him. There was still much to do. He had to figure out how to restrain Erick for the road — there were so many options after all — he also had to figure out what to wear, his moustache needed a trim, and he ought to stop somewhere to buy flowers…

Ding dong! Ding dong!

Delaney looked over to the front door. He wasn’t expecting anyone. Warily he approached the alarm panel to check the security camera, freezing for a second as soon as he caught a glimpse of his unexpected visitor.

“Fuck…”

“Daniel!”

Mateo now knocked on the door, shouting through it.

“I know you’re home, open up! You aren’t answering your phone anymore, you’re worrying me!”

“Fuck,” Delaney repeated, beginning to head over to the door.

Mateo would be pissed, but he couldn’t exactly turn him away when he was right there on his doorstep. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

“Ah, glad to see you’re alive,” Mateo said, pushing his way inside, “you just dropped off the face of the earth. What happened?”

“...it’s a long story,” Delaney said, closing the door.

“I still got a couple hours,” Mateo said, “somehow managed to keep the ruse up, no thanks to you.”

He moved over to the kitchen, blatantly taking a bottle of beer from Delaney’s fridge. He always had the good imported stuff. He turned to find an opener in one of the drawers, when he noticed the dishes left on the counter from last night.

“You never lost him,” he concluded.

“I…made a deal with Lavender,” Delaney admitted, “to get closer to her…in exchange for the boy.”

“Daniel…”

Mateo sighed deeply.

“Surely you know that was never going to work out? She would have abandoned you as soon as you lost your leverage. Besides…she wouldn’t have shown up in the first place.”

“Why?” Delaney asked.

“Because her new boyfriend finally snapped and killed her,” Mateo said.

Delaney paled, needing to sit down and stumbled back into one of the high chairs at the cooking isle.

“N-no…that can’t be true…”

“I have a picture as proof.”

“Pictures can be manipulated, Mateo!” Delaney said, “remember the yoghurt? You fell right for it!”

“...you have a point,” Mateo said, “see? This is why we work better together.”

“Lavender called me yesterday at about five PM,” Delaney said, “when did you get your picture?”

“Five-twelve,” Mateo said, “it couldn’t have happened in such a short time. Especially if you’ve been making promises about the boy. They knew he wasn’t with me?”

“He spoke to her on the phone,” Delaney said, “they know.”

“So they’re up to something,” Mateo concluded, “but they don’t know that we know…”

“We can use that to our advantage,” Delaney said, “but…what is your endgame here? Will Lavender get hurt?”

“Emotionally, perhaps,” Mateo said, “but it’ll get her back on our side. We have to make it very clear that fucking me over was a bad idea. We kill Fetcher today and when we get bored with him we’ll make her kill the boy too.”

“She’ll never forgive you,” Delaney pointed out.

“But she’ll never run away again either, because it’ll just mean more death for whoever she makes friends with,” Mateo said, “you could maybe even convince her to stay just for you~”

“...I’m supposed to meet her at some place about a two-hour drive from here at one,” Delaney said.

“Huh…I’m supposed to meet Fetcher at the same place but at one-thirty…”

“Sounds like they planned to get the boy back before dealing with you,” Delaney said.

“So we turn the tables on them,” Mateo said, “we both show up, but I’ll hide with the boy and ambush them at the right moment. They’ll never know what hit them.”

“But only Fetcher gets killed, right?” Delaney checked.

“Yes, if everything goes according to plan,” Mateo said, “now…I want to meet the boy.”

“We don’t have time for any shenanigans,” Delaney said.

“I’ll just help you tie him up then, we’ll have plenty of time for more after we’re done.”

“...guest bedroom,” Delaney said.

Mateo eagerly abandoned his unopened beer and headed for the stairs. Delaney followed.

“What is he like?” Mateo asked on the way up, “have you had many rounds with him yet?”

“He’s a fighter,” Delaney said, brushing over the cut on his lip, “I haven’t gotten the chance. Besides…I promised Lavender.”

“I didn’t,” Mateo said.

Delaney shrugged. He did have a point. They came up to the guest room, and Mateo opened the door. His fingerprint was in the security system, as he crashed there on occasion. However, as he pushed the door open, the room was empty.

“Where is he?” Mateo asked.

“Bathroom, probably?” Delaney said, pushing past Mateo to enter the room.

The bed was made again, so he was definitely awake. He walked over to the bathroom, the door was left ajar so he probably wasn’t interrupting anything, unfortunately. He pushed the door open, finding the teen going through the drawers underneath the sink.

“What are you doing?” Delaney asked.

“Looking for Advil,” Erick said, though he was restacking the spare tubes of toothpaste instead.

“Come,” Delaney said.

“Just let me finish,” Erick replied.

He sounded tired. He slept late and he didn’t sleep very well. Fetch was right, alcohol was bad for you. Delaney, however, didn’t care about how he felt, grabbing him by the back of the collar and pulling him away from the drawer.

“N-no wait, I just have to— Ack!”

Delaney yanked a bit harder to shut him up, dragging him out of the bathroom and bringing him before Mateo. Erick tried to pull free, but froze when he spotted the second man. Something about him set off all kinds of alarm bells. From the look in his eyes to the way he towered over him as Delaney pushed him closer.

“You did quite a number on him, Daniel,” Mateo said, looking the boy over before grabbing a hold of the ring on the front of the collar.

Erick tried to pull away, but Mateo didn’t let him, and Delaney was still right behind him.

“Where are you going, boy? You got plans or something?” Mateo said, grabbing the boy’s jaw with his free hand and holding him still to get a better look at his face.

“Hgn…I’m a bit hungover so I cancelled all my plans,” Erick said.

Mateo barked out a laugh.

“Cute face and a sense of humour,” he said.

Erick managed to shake his head out of his grip.

“That makes one of us,” he said.

“He’s much better company if you shut him up,” Delaney advised, “though on the other hand he makes great sounds if you surprise him.”

“Well, why don’t you grab some ropes from your hobby room while Erick and I get acquainted?” Mateo said, pulling the boy closer to him.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” Erick hissed, struggling against his grip.

Mateo shushed him, turning him around and clamping his hand over his mouth, pulling him closer and smelling his hair.

“Hmm…it’s a shame we don’t have the time to get properly acquainted,” he said, dragging the boy towards the bed, “but I’ll take whatever I can get…”

Meanwhile Fetch and Lavender were already on their way to the place they were supposed to meet. An abandoned barn just off a road that wasn’t in use anymore. Lavender was in a mood since Fetch didn’t allow her to drive his van again, not to mention they were both tense.

Hopefully their plan would work. It was likely their plan would work, but there was still that off chance that it wouldn’t. At least they could meet their extra hands before things would go down. She was curious to meet the woman they spoke to on the phone. This was a man’s world after all, so she never really expected to meet another woman in this context.

They arrived at the barn, the woman in question already waiting for them, leaning against a large motorcycle, helmet resting on the seat, a large rifle strapped to her back. Lavender couldn’t take her eyes off of her.

She looked like she came straight out of a movie. She was wearing a black, leather jacket, zipped open as it was quite hot in the sun. Her butterfly tattoo visible above her tank top. Dark blue, reinforced jeans tucked into a black pair of motorcycle boots with steel toes. Her legs in particular were a bit stained with dust, probably from the recent drive.

“That her?” Lavender asked while Fetch parked.

“The one and only,” Fetch said, cutting the engine and getting out.

Lavender quickly followed as they approached the woman.

“About time,” Thorne said, “I thought you were punctual?”

“It’s been a rough couple of days,” Fetch said, “anyway, Rhodes, this is Thorne. Thorne, meet Rhodes.”

Thorne stepped away from her motorcycle to shake Lavender’s hand.

“Call me Keira,” she said.

“Lavender,” the younger woman replied.

First name basis right off the bat. Nice.

“Pleasure,” Thorne said, “so what’s the plan? I’ve already taken a look around. I can perch myself up that old windmill there, but whatever you’re planning needs to go down on this side of the barn.”

“Can do,” Fetch said, “you should park your motorcycle inside so they won’t know you’re here. Oh and did you bring the thing I texted you about?”

“What thing?” Lavender asked suspiciously.

Thorne chuckled.

“Relax, hun,” she said, pulling something from inside her jacket, “I heard you like knives.”

She handed Lavender a brand new hunting knife inside a leather sheath.

“It clips to your belt and you can use the smaller straps to attach it to your leg, or leave them off,” Fetch explained, “we never got yours back from the police, so I figured you could use a new one. How much do I owe you?”

“Consider it a gift,” Thorne said, “for her, not for you. You still have to pay me for this job first.”

“Thanks, I like it,” Lavender said, “can’t wait to use it either…”

“Attagirl,” Fetch said, “so. We’re expecting Delaney first. He has Erick. We’ll force him to give up where he is, then hide him before Keller shows up. Deal with him, call the cops on Delaney, then we all go home.”

“You don’t want to kill them both?” Thorne asked.

“Delaney is a scumbag too, but he’s not a threat,” Lavender said, “you’ll see what I mean.”

“Alright,” Thorne said, turning around to pick up her helmet “open the barn, I’ll move my bike.”

“Should be easy,” Fetch said, walking over.

Thorne handed her helmet to Lavender.

“Hold this for me, dear. I won’t need it for such a short end.”

“Is it hard?” Lavender asked, taking the helmet and watching Thorne get onto the bike.

“It takes some practice and a little more skill than driving a car,” Thorne said, “but there’s nothing else like it.”

She smiled, starting the engine and driving towards the barn while Fetch held the door open for her. Lavender considered taking lessons as she followed.

After hiding the motorcycle, Thorne climbed up onto the old windmill, Lavender still watching her until she was pretty much out of sight.

“Whoa, you can’t even see her,” she said.

“She can see us,” Fetch assured her, kicking around the dirt a bit to hide the tyre tracks of the motorcycle, “glad you two can get along.”

“I don’t see why you can’t,” Lavender said, “she’s pretty cool.”

“She’s also good at her job,” Fetch said, “now look ready. It’s almost time.”

“What do you mean look ready? You’re either ready or you’re not,” Lavender said.

“You know what I mean,” Fetch said, “there’s someone coming.”

“Oh shit.”

Lavender quickly got ready, looking over in the direction Fetch was looking. A car was approaching…but something felt off.

“Uh…Fetch.”

“Yes, Rhodes?”

“That’s not Delaney’s car.”

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[villainsview]

Part 12

FULL ART by @scarletfish8eta

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Delaney had just woken up from his beauty sleep, grooming himself in the mirror once again while wondering what to eat later, and whether he should get Erick something too. He hadn’t fed him anything since he grabbed him, so he was likely famished.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out with a sigh. It was probably Mateo again— Nope! He nearly dropped his phone as his heart started racing. It was Lavender. He quickly checked his look in the mirror before picking up.

“You really know how to brighten a man’s day~” he said.

“Don’t be weird,” Lavender told him, “we need to talk.”

“Have you thought about my proposal?” Delaney asked hopefully.

“It’s not something to discuss over the phone,” Lavender said, “can we meet somewhere?”

“Of course!” Daleney said quickly, “I know a place, I could pick you up at eight—”

“No,” Lavender interrupted, “I’ll text you a time and address. Probably tomorrow.”

“Mysterious, I love it~” Delaney said.

“Whatever,” Lavender replied, “oh and could you do one thing for me?”

“Anything!”

“Don’t fucking touch the kid,” Lavender said, “if I find out you have, I’ll kill you on sight, and I will find out.”

Anything but that!

Delaney was a bit disappointed. But it wouldn’t all be for nothing if he could get to her.

“I swear to you, I haven’t touched him, and I won’t until we meet,” he said, checking his lip in the mirror.

Surely that didn’t count.

“Let him tell me,” Lavender demanded, “put him on again.”

“He might be sleeping—”

“Then wake him up, he won’t mind,” Lavender said.

“Anything for you,” Delaney said, “stay on the line…”

He left his room, walking over to the guest room, even remembering to knock before unlocking and opening the door. Erick was standing by the bookshelf, going through the books. Perhaps he was bored? He froze when he heard the door open though, warily turning around.

“Phone, for you,” Delaney just said, holding out his phone.

Erick blinked. Was he for real? He didn’t move, so Delaney stepped closer so he could take the phone. Was it a trick? He glanced down at the screen, spotting Lavender’s name. He shot Delaney a wary look, before taking the phone and putting it to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Ah good, you’re still alive,” Lavender said.

“Is Fetch with you?”

“No, he’s doing something else right now,” Lavender said, “we have a plan, but you just have to hold on for a little longer. If he tries anything, tell him I said no.”

“That should work, he’s crazy about you,” Erick quietly commented.

“Ugh,” Lavender sighed, “whatever. Let me just verify something…did he touch you? You don’t have to tell me what he did, just yes or no.”

“No…not yet,” Erick said, “I haven’t let him.”

“Good boy,” Lavender said.

Erick raised a brow. Was that concern in her voice? Pride? Emotion?

“You’ll be here soon?” he asked, wondering what they had planned.

“Yes. Just stay strong,” Lavender said, “maybe throw in a good punch while you’re at it.”

“Okay…tell Fetch I can take it. So he won’t worry so much.”

“Got it,” Lavender said, “give the phone back to Delaney now. We’ll see you soon.”

“Mhm…”

Erick somewhat reluctantly handed the phone back, a little disappointed he couldn’t get to talk to Fetch. Delaney took the phone back, relieved Erick didn’t rat him out about his attempts.

“I told you he was fine~”

“Yeah, keep it that way or so help me,” Lavender threatened, “I’ll text you later where to meet up. Don’t be late.”

“I wouldn’t dare~ and maybe after we can— Oh she hung up…”

“Take the hint, man. She doesn’t like you,” Erick said.

“Mind your own business you— What are you doing with my books?”

“Just fixing them,” Erick said, turning back to the shelf and putting the book he was holding back.

The titles were now sorted by height, thickness as well as colour. Delaney raised a brow. What a weird thing to focus on… he looked around the rest of the room. The bed was perfectly made even after the boy slept in it, and other trinkets on display had been aligned perfectly as well.

“Got bored?” Delaney asked.

“Mind your own business,” Erick just replied.

Delaney rolled his eyes, but a promise was a promise.

“Come on,” he said, “you must be hungry.”

Back at the dynamic duo, Lavender relayed Erick’s words and situation back to Fetch. He’d just finished a cigarette while waiting for her, but already lit a new one now.

“And you’re sure he was fine?” he asked.

“He might’ve been holding something back, but he also had sass,” Lavender said, “he also asked me to tell you he can take it.”

“What’s gotten into him, acting tough like that? Only gets you in trouble,” Fetch grumbled.

“He’s taking after you, you should be proud,” Lavender said, “anyway, your move.”

“Right,” Fetch said, putting his cigarette on the edge of the ashtray as he grabbed his phone and texted Mateo the picture of Lavender.

“Now we wait.”

“Remember to ask for Erick again so he thinks we still think he has him,” Lavender said.

“I know, that was my idea,” Fetch reminded her.

“I know, it’s just…you seem stressed,” Lavender said.

“Of course I’m stressed!” Fetch snapped, “I should’ve never let him stay, then all of this wouldn’t have happened.”

“...why’d you even let him stick around?” Lavender asked, picking up his cigarette and handing it back to him.

He gladly took it, taking another drag.

“It was a mess,” he said, “the whole job from start to finish. I’d just had some bad news so I wasn’t exactly in a good place I think. I killed his only friend and caused his only living relative to flee the country…he would’ve ended up in foster care and dead in a ditch somewhere.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better it seems you’ve taught him how to take care of himself,” Lavender said, “I told him to throw in a good punch if he gets the chance.”

“I should probably start teaching him how to do that too,” Fetch said.

“Nah I think I better teach him,” Lavender said, “your form is sloppy, and you’re too tall. He needs to learn to use his size to his advantage.”

“Fair enough— What do you mean sloppy?”

Lavender grinned, but before they could start arguing Fetch’s phone started ringing. He looked at the caller ID and gestured at Lavender to be quiet, before picking up.

“I hope you’re happy,” he said.

“I’m impressed,” Mateo said, “she trusted you and you betrayed her…what was it like? How did she look at you when she realised you fucked her over?”

“I did what you asked, let’s just get this whole thing over with,” Fetch said, “you want her corpse, no? I know a place where we won’t be seen.”

“Sure~ If it’s not too far I could be there by tonight,” Mateo said, “your boy is eager to see you, he’s been crying your name all night.”

“I’ll text you the address,” Fetch said, rolling his eyes a bit.

This guy really just put all his money on a bluff, didn’t he?

“But first let me talk to Erick,” he demanded, “you haven’t given me any proof of life.”

“You’re just going to have to take my word for it,” Mateo said, “so when did you want to meet?”

“I’m further away so it’s gonna have to be tomorrow,” Fetch said.

“Heh, lucky me~” Mateo said, “but don’t worry I’ll try to clean him up a bit for you.”

“Motherfucker,” Fetch sighed, “don’t be late tomorrow or I will—”

“You don’t get to make demands, Fetcher,” Mateo said, “I think I’m going to enjoy our last night together now. Bye~”

He hung up, to which Fetch put his phone down with a sigh, looking up at Lavender.

“If you miss your shot at killing him, I’ll kill him myself,” he said.

“What’d he say?” Lavender asked.

“Implying disgusting things,” Fetch just said, “anyway. We’ll ask Thorne to meet us half an hour before Delaney, and we’ll tell Keller half an hour after Delaney. You can deal with him in half an hour, right?”

“I’ll barely need five minutes,” Lavender scoffed, “so what’s for dinner?”

“Fuck I haven’t even thought about dinner…”

“Just order takeout, I’ll pick it up…just need money.”

Speaking of dinner, Delaney managed to bribe Erick into a truce…with food. Though, annoyingly, Erick refused to accept a tray in the room, claiming Delaney would poison it.

“I wouldn’t poison it, I’m an excellent cook!” he claimed, before sighing, “would you eat it if you see me make it?”

“Depends,” Erick said, “what are you making?”

“Come,” Delaney said, gesturing for the boy to follow him, “try not to do anything stupid.”

“Because all the doors are locked?” Erick guessed, warily following him out the room.

“That, and I could easily use any kitchen utensils as a paddle if you don’t behave.”

“I’ll tell Lavender about the kiss if you do that,” Erick said.

“You can’t tell her until I decide to let you see or talk to her, so you don’t have any leverage over me,” Delaney reminded him, grabbing him by the back of the collar again and dragging him downstairs, into the kitchen.

He dragged him over to the large cooking isle, pulling out one of the high chairs that was directly across the built-in electric stove.

“Sit,” he said.

“I’m not a dog,” Erick said, annoyed, rubbing his throat a bit as Delaney let go.

“You’re dressed like one,” Delaney pointed out with a smirk.

Erick sighed annoyed, getting onto the chair and warily watching Delaney as he moved around the kitchen. He washed his hands, put on a leather apron, and opened his fridge.

“Let’s see what’s on the menu…oh halibut~ That should go great with some kisir and bazlama…”

He pulled out a couple tupperware boxes from the fridge, and something that looked like a slab of dough and set them on the counter, before pulling a frying pan from a drawer and setting it on the stove.

“What are you making?” Erick asked, not familiar with the dishes.

“Halibut is a type of fish—” “Yeah I can see that,” Erick interrupted, “I meant the other things.”

“You don’t eat a lot of international cuisine, do you?” Delaney asked, sounding disappointed.

“Does Chinese takeout count?”

“No.”

“There’s your answer,” Erick said.

Delaney sighed, praying for patience.

“Kisir is a type of salad,” he said, “this flatbread is called Bazlama. Both Nene’s recipe— My grandmother.”

“Does she know how you spend your free time?” Erick asked.

“She’s dead. She can’t ever know,” Delaney deadpanned, “now stop trying to get under my skin if you still want to eat.”

He gave the teen a warning look, before preheating the oven for his flatbread, and then opening a cabinet with a glass door.

“One can only drink a fine chablis with a mild fish like this,” he murmured to himself, pulling out a bottle and checking the label.

Erick rolled his eyes. The man was showing off again. He opened the bottle, said something about airing it first, before getting on with cooking. He turned on the stovetop, oiled the pan and gently put the fish in. The flatbread went into the oven, the salad was divided over two smaller bowls, and the fish was seasoned with the usual herbs and spices.

Delaney poured himself a glass of wine, taking a small sip before continuing with preparations. He gave Erick a napkin, a fork and a spoon, and a glass of water. The flatbread finished baking, so he pulled it out of the oven and cut it into four pieces, plating up two and setting it in front of Erick along with the kisir salad. Then he turned off the stove and plated up one piece of fish, setting that down too.

“Don’t touch that yet,” he said, returning to the fridge and picking out a lemon, which he also cut in four, squeezing one out over the fish, and leaving one on the plate as extra garnish.

“Mouth-watering, isn’t it~?”

“It’s…food,” Erick agreed.

He hated how good it smelled and looked, refusing to grant the man a single compliment. Delaney rolled his eyes, pouring a second glass of wine.

“Don’t be ungrateful,” he said, sliding the glass over.

Erick ignored it, trying a bite from the salad. It tasted like tomatoes, but minty.

“Don’t like wine?” Delaney asked.

“I’m sixteen,” Erick said.

“That’s the legal drinking age in a looot of countries,” Delaney said.

“Fetch says alcohol is bad for you,” Erick said, trying the fish.

Fuck it was good. Delaney groaned a bit as he got started on his own plate.

“Why is everyone so obsessed with that guy?” he said, “what makes him so much better than me?”

“Man, I could list so many things,” Erick said.

“Don’t,” Delaney said, “just eat quietly, enjoy the wine. You don’t waste a fine wine like this one.”

“I don’t want your stupid wine.”

“Just give it a try.”

“No.”

Delaney put down his cutlery and got up. Erick tensed up, remembering Lavender’s words. He just had to hang in a little longer. Delaney came up behind him, his hand on his throat again, forcing him to look up while he picked up the wineglass.

“N-no!”

“Open up,” Delaney said, “every drop spilled is another lashing.”

“Fuck you—”

Delaney just tightened his grip, holding the glass to his lips and beginning to pour. Erick sputtered, trying to spit it out, but Delaney got a decent sip in before clamping his hand over the boy’s mouth.

“The sooner you swallow, the sooner it’ll be over,” he said, pulling him a little closer.

Erick struggled, trying to push him off, but it was getting harder to breathe, especially when he almost inhaled part of the sip. He couldn’t cough. He couldn’t shake off Delaney’s hand… so he swallowed the wine.

“Good boy.” Delaney said, letting go so Erick could cough properly and breathe again, “See? It’s not so bad. Take another sip.”

He kept his hands on the boy’s shoulders, squeezing uncomfortably. Or at least, it was making Erick uncomfortable.

“I-I don’t like it,” he said.

“Humour me~ Or would you rather I get the TENS down here? It’s portable for a reason~”

“N-no…”

Delaney smirked, taking up the glass again and coaxing him to take another sip. Okay, maybe the taste wasn’t too bad, it was just the circumstances that sucked. The food was great, but the cook was a creep, the wine was of high quality, but Delaney was making him drink it too fast. This was going to be a long night…

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[villainsview]

Part 11

FULL ART by @scarletfish8eta

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Back at Delaney’s obnoxious house, just after Lavender hung up on him, he finally released Erick from the cross, even catching him as he failed to keep standing.

“Giving up already~?” he said, “I’m not even done with you yet~”

“D-don’t…”

“Hush~”

He pulled his arm over his shoulder to support him, walking him over to the large bed on the other side of the room and sitting him down on the edge. Erick pulled away from him as soon as he let go, but Delaney caught his collar and pulled him back.

“I said I wasn’t done,” he said.

“Then…n-neither am I,” Erick said, finding his voice back somewhat.

He felt sore all over, especially his legs and shoulders, but he couldn’t give up. Delaney just smirked, pushing him to lie down before changing his grip from his collar to his throat and squeezing.

“You know, I was going to suggest taking a nap, but if you’re going to be such a fucking tease…”

Erick tried to pull his hand off, gasping for air. When that didn’t work he tried kicking, but he didn’t have the strength in his legs. Just when he thought he was beginning to feel dizzy, Delaney finally let go. But while he was distracted with catching his breath, Delaney went and cuffed his wrists together, a length of chain attached to a ring on the headboard keeping his hands trapped above his head.

“Cough! They’ll fucking kill you…” the teen groaned.

“That’s just a risk I’ll have to take,” Delaney said, pulling some kind of suitcase from underneath the bed and opening it.

Erick only just couldn’t see its contents, but spotted Delaney pulling out a cable and plugging it into an outlet on the wall.

“What is that?” he asked.

“A TENS unit.” Delaney said, smirking as the teen seemed confused, “Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation,” he elaborated, “I put it together myself, since the store-bought kind just doesn’t have the right oomph.”

“What does it do?” Erick asked warily.

“Depending on the setting it can help relax sore muscles, stimulate blood flow, provide pleasure if you’re into it, or intense pain when you get into the higher range.”

He pulled out a set of sticky patches, attached to the machine with thin wires, which he had to detangle a bit. Erick pulled on his wrist cuffs a bit, not liking where this was going at all. Delaney chuckled.

“Calm down, you had your punishment,” he said, pulling one of the patches free from the rest and approaching him again.

“Don’t fucking touch— No!”

His struggles were pointless and limited, and Delaney easily pasted some patches on the inside and outsides of his thighs, thankfully avoiding the sore welts. Then he ignored his protests and unbuttoned his shirt to paste two on his stomach, and lastly he invaded his sleeves to paste some on his shoulders and upper arms.

“Now, I’ll start with a continuous flow on a low setting. It might tickle a bit first, but then we’ll play around to find a setting you like, okay?”

“I don’t want—”

Click

The machine hummed to life and Erick gasped, more in shock than from the actual result, as he didn’t really feel much at all. A slight tickle radiating from the patches through his body. Delaney chuckled at his expression.

“See? It’s not so bad,” he said, before turning a dial.

Erick hissed a bit, actually feeling his muscles begin to relax. As if he’d stepped into a warm bath.

“Electricity is amazing, isn’t it?” Delaney said, “we rely on it, we run on it. You decide you want to move your arms, so your brain sends an electric signal through your nervous system, causing your muscles to contract in just the right spot. It’s an amazing system, but it’s so easy to hijack.”

He turned the dial again, sending a sudden, stronger pulse through the pads, causing the teen’s muscles to contract all of a sudden, before relaxing again.

“Ah— F-fuck…”

“Hmm such a lovely sound~” Delaney said, flipping a switch so the unit would periodically send another pulse at regular intervals.

Erick blushed, he wasn’t even quite sure what sound he made, but if Delaney liked it so much he didn’t want to do it again—

“Hgnn!”

“No need to hold back for my sake, let it all out,” Delaney said, sitting down on the bed next to him.

“No!” Erick snapped.

But Delaney just shushed him, getting closer as he stroked his cheek. Erick tried to turn his head away, he couldn’t even tense up properly. Delaney knew another pulse was coming, so he pulled on his collar with one hand, while yanking his head back by his hair with the other just as it hit. Erick moaned in surprise, eliciting another amused chuckle.

“Addicting, isn’t it?” Delaney said, “I could do this for hours, but I really need my beauty sleep.”

“T-turn it off…” Erick pleaded, his cheeks blushing red, embarrassed by his own responses.

“If you’ll let me have a little taste,” Delaney said.

He couldn’t resist it anymore. He’d worked hard for this, took many risks and a lot of attitude, and even with the reward literally in his reach, he still had to refrain. First of all, he was exhausted from staying up all night and felt like he would pass out if he pushed himself too much now. But a little taste would be okay. It was not like the teen could do much to stop him anyway.

He pulled on the collar again, waiting a second for the next pulse to distract the boy before kissing him. Erick tried to turn his head away, but when that didn’t stop him he instead found the first thing that caught his teeth and bit down. Hard.

“Argh!”

Delaney growled in pain, tearing his lip just to be able to pull away. He tasted blood, reaching up to feel a decent cut on his bottom lip. He glared down at the teen, who just stared back with a defiant look before spitting out some blood, smudging his cheek.

“Should’ve specified what kind of taste you wanted,” he said.

“Maybe I should’ve used a cane instead of a crop,” Delaney replied, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket to dab at his lip while getting up.

“Hgnn…you hit like a wimp anyway.”

Delaney didn’t grant him a response. Instead, he just turned a dial on his unit, before flipping another switch.

“AAAH!”

Erick jolted, crying out in pain as a much stronger current suddenly ran through the pads. Delaney waited for him to stop screaming as he began running out of breath, before switching the whole unit off. It took a good couple of seconds before Erick was able to breathe in again. It didn’t help to cough after breathing in some saliva, either.

“Keep breathing,” Delaney advised, beginning to pull the patches off of his skin, “I’ll give you a choice. Either you apologise and you can rest in my guest room, or you keep acting up and you’re never seeing the outside of this room again.”

He put the pads aside and pulled on the collar again to make sure he had the teen’s attention.

“What’s it gonna be?”

Erick unsuccessfully tried to cover a sob with a cough, struggling to form a coherent sentence, or any word for that matter.

“S-s-sor…s-sor—”

“Hm, shame,” Delaney said, “you would’ve looked great in the stockade, but a promise is a promise.”

He let go of the collar, reaching up to uncuff his wrists before trying to get the dazed teen to his feet. Again with an arm around his shoulders, and his arm around the teen’s waist, he escorted him back to the guest room, letting him lie down on the bed while reminding him about the lock.

Erick wisely kept quiet, or he was still too stunned to think. Either way Delaney left him alone, locking the door behind him. He got some ice for his lip, and a drink to calm down, before heading to his own bedroom, applying some extra moisturising cream under his eyes before passing out for a good, long nap.

Meanwhile Lavender had just gotten out of the shower, rubbing her hair dry with a towel while going through the bedrooms until she found Fetch’s things, borrowing another shirt from him. She never brought any luggage when they started this whole thing after all.

She dropped the towel on the floor and headed downstairs, finding Fetch sipping a fresh cup of coffee. He’d managed to clean up almost all of the blood in the kitchen, leaving only a stain on the table as it seemed to have soaked into the wood a bit. Nothing a fresh layer of paint wouldn’t fix, but it shouldn’t be their problem.

“How’s the kid?” she asked.

“Tired, but he’ll live,” Fetch said, “you wanna see the picture now?”

“Yeah, show me.”

He handed her his phone, the picture already loaded on the screen. It was a bit shocking how real it looked. From the wound to the patterns in the blood and the little details like leaving the knife in the frame, the blood on her own arm as if she’d tried to save herself. She shuddered again, but she wasn’t even sure why.

“You okay?” Fetch asked.

Fuck. He noticed this time.

“I’m good,” Lavender said, handing his phone back, “so now I call Delaney?”

“Actually I need your help with something first,” Fetch said.

“Wow you can’t do anything without me, can you?” Lavender said with a smirk.

“I can do it without you, but with you it’s just easier,” Fetch said, “the contact I mentioned…we didn’t exactly part our ways in a friendly manner, but hearing your side of the story might persuade them.”

“My side?” Lavender asked.

“You’re the one who wants Keller dead,” Fetch said.

“You’re no fan of him either!”

“Listen,” Fetch said, “she takes things personally. And your beef with Keller is more personal than mine.”

“She?” Lavender asked, raising a brow, “What’d you do? Write her some poetry? Didn’t call her back after spending the night?”

“It’s a long story,” Fetch said, “now stop wasting time. The sooner we find Erick, the better.”

“Right,” Lavender said, deciding to focus, “go on, call her. Put her on speaker. I’ll talk some sense into her.”

Fetch nodded, opening his phone for the right number and hitting dial, putting the phone on speaker and laying it on the table. Lavender sat on the edge of the table next to him, watching the loading wheel spin as the call was connecting. Finally, the line stopped beeping as someone picked up.

“I thought I told you to delete my number?” a deep, female voice answered, not sounding too pleased.

Lavender threw Fetch a look, wondering what he’d done wrong, but he ignored her.

“I wouldn’t bother you if I didn’t really need your help for something,” Fetch said.

“If you’re going to ask me to put a hit on Peter or any of his associates, I’ll assassinate you instead,” the woman replied.

“Jesus, Fetch, what did you do to her?” Lavender asked.

“Who else is there?” the woman asked.

“The woman I need you to help,” Fetch said, “her name is Lavender Rhodes. Rhodes, you’re talking to Keira Thorne.”

“So you’re not calling for yourself?” Thorne asked.

“Yes and no,” Fetch said, “it’s a long story.”

“I got time,” Thorne said.

“The short version is I made him back out of a job and now the guy is pissed and bothering us both,” Lavender said, “kidnapped his kid.”

“You have children?” Thorne asked curiously.

“She means Erick James,” Fetch elaborated, “the kid Allard tried to sell?”

“I thought you killed him,” Thorne said.

“No, I just burned a corpse and left enough of his blood around the scene for the police to get tunnel vision.” Fetch explained, “He’s very much alive.”

“For now.” Lavender chimed in, “Listen, Thorne, I dunno what your beef is with Fetcher, but this isn’t about him. This is about a pervert who’s been kidnapping, abusing and killing kids for years. We’ve got a chance to off him, but we need an extra person to make sure the odds are in our favour. Fetcher recommended you.”

“What’s his name?” Thorne asked.

“Mateo Keller,” Fetch and Lavender replied in unison.

“I heard that name before,” Thorne said, “he spreads…questionable pictures, no?”

“Yup, that’s him,” Lavender said, “we’ll meet up with him and a partner of his soon. We want to kill Mateo and use the partner to find out where the kid is.”

Thorne was quiet for a moment. Fetch even checked to make sure the call hadn’t disconnected when she spoke up again, having made her decision.

“Text me the time and place. I’ll bring my long-range,” she said, “oh, and bring cash.”

Beeeeep…

Fetch ended the call, seeming relieved as he pocketed his phone.

“She’s on board,” he said.

“She said bring cash,” Lavender pointed out, “do we have much cash?”

“I can give her some, then we offer her a third of Virgil’s ransom,” Fetch said.

“You mean half of your share,” Lavender said, “I’m not the one who got beef with her.”

“You started this whole thing!” Fetch said, “You know what? We’ll argue about this later. You can call Delaney now.”

“Fiiine, what do I tell him?”

“That you want to meet up, you’ll text him the time and address, yada yada yada— We’ll figure out the actual schedule later.”

“Got it. Now you shut up, it’s probably better if he thinks I’m acting alone.”

“You could ask nicely—”

“Shut.”

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[villainsview]

Part 10

FULL ART by @scarletfish8eta

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Lavender was not happy. She was glaring ahead as she mulled over Fetch’s words in her mind. It would be easier to go to the local newspaper, he said. There won’t be any police as opposed to going directly to the kid’s home, he said.

They. Were. Fucking. Waiting. For. Her.

She never even got the chance to drop the ransom note in their mailbox or she’d been surrounded by like four or five cars, all yelling at her. Before she knew it she’d been handcuffed and her knife taken away.

She’d played innocent. Told them some guy asked her to drop the note if she passed by on her way to the library. But they’d taken her in anyway and left her alone in an interrogation room.

The longer she sat there, the more she began to suspect it had been a set up. Would Fetch really? No, it didn’t make sense. He wouldn’t…or would he? She knew she would if the price was right, and just to see the look on his face, but he was different, wasn’t he?

He was a sap and as far as she knew, he was supposed to kill her. Mateo would never settle for an arrest. If he wanted her dead, he meant it, and the only way to stop him was to kill him first. That would stop everything. But she couldn’t kill him from jail. She couldn’t afford this stupid arrest…

The door finally opened, and a different guy than the asshole who left her there walked in, closed the door, glanced up at the camera, walked over and pulled the cable to disable it. Lavender raised a brow, but said nothing, staying seated.

“You Lavender Rhodes?” the man asked.

“Don’t know her,” she replied, looking the man up and down.

He looked pretty skinny, wearing a suit and leather gloves. He…didn’t seem like a cop. The man sighed.

“Copenhagen?” he asked.

“Son of a bitch,” Lavender said, getting up, “Fetcher sent you?”

“Unfortunately,” the man said, “come on. You’re free to go.”

“...just like that?”

“You can also stay if you prefer.”

“Hell no, let’s go,” Lavender said.

The man nodded, holding the door open for her. They really could just walk out. The cops were giving her dirty looks, but made no attempt to stop them.

“What did you tell them?” she asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” the man said, guiding her out of the station, a fancy-looking black car waiting for them.

Frankly, she was a bit at a loss for words, but settled in the back of the car, next to the stranger in the suit, while the driver smoothly pulled up.

“So…how do you know Fetcher?” she asked.

It seemed unreal that he knew anyone this organised. He’d always seemed more of a loner to her.

“He’s friends with my boss,” the man said, “name’s Jonas. At your service. I’ve actually been following your career as of recently.”

“That’s creepy,” Lavender said.

“I suppose you could see it that way too, yes,” Jonas said, taking out his tablet to make a note, before putting it away and pulling out a business card instead, handing it to her.

“If you ever need anything, however, do give us a call, and I’m sure we can come to an agreement.”

“Right,” Lavender said, taking the card but not looking at it before pocketing it.

The car stopped in an alley and Jonas got out, holding the door open for her. She got out as well, finding Fetch waiting for her beside a blue car, smoking a cigarette and shaking his head a bit after they locked eyes.

“She’s all yours, Fetcher.”

“Thank you, Jonas,” Fetch said.

“You’re lucky I happened to be nearby,” Jonas just said.

“Right,” Fetch just said, “I got it from here. Jonas. You go do…whatever you were up to.”

“Awfully delayed now thanks to you,” Jonas said, “good day, miss Rhodes. Or should I say, good luck?”

“Also creepy,” Lavender said, watching them drive off before turning to Fetch and punching him on the arm.

“Ow!”

“You said the newspaper would be easier! I walked straight into an ambush!”

“Yeah, turns out the police here are actually competent,” Fetch said, “speaking of. We should get the fuck out of here before they realise you weren’t supposed to be released at all.”

He walked around the car and opened the trunk, gesturing at it. Lavender didn’t move.

“You’re kidding.”

“Don’t want to run the risk of them looking for you. We can’t afford to waste any more time,” Fetch said.

“I go to jail for you and you’re making me ride in the trunk?!” Lavender said.

“You couldn’t have gone any further than holding,” Fetch deadpanned, “now get in.”

“Fuck you,” Lavender said, reluctantly climbing into the trunk and trying to find a comfortable position.

Fetch even had some water and a flashlight ready for her, handing her the items.

“You know,” he said, hand on the lid, ready to close it, “this isn’t a bad look on you, Rhodes.”

“I’ll kill you in your sleep tonight!”

“No you won’t,” Fetch said, before closing the trunk.

They drove a good few hours, and Lavender was beginning to understand why anyone she had ever had in her trunk was always so miserable at the end of the drive and decided she ought to do it more often.

At least she had water and the ability to see something. It wasn’t the most comfortable, but with the few comfort items she had, it wasn’t too bad. She was tough after all, and she tried to kick Fetch when he finally let her out just to prove it.

“Hey!” he said, nearly getting a boot to the face, “stop that.”

“Just making sure it’s you~” Lavender said, “you don’t hear shit back here. Something could’ve happened to you.”

“Well I’m fine,” Fetch growled, helping her climb out.

“Disappointing.”

“Shut up.”

“What did you do with Virgil during my jailbreak?” Lavender asked.

“Had one of Tito’s guys bring him here,” Fetch said, gesturing at the new hideout.

A cabin in somewhat better condition than where they were staying before.

“Not too shabby,” Lavender said, letting Fetch show her inside.

There was a young man hanging out in the kitchen, slicing an apple and eating the pieces from the tip of his knife.

“James, was it?” Fetch said.

“Only Mr Rana calls me that,” the young man replied, “just Jim is fine, really.”

“Okay. How’d it go with the kid?” Fetch asked.

“Smooth,” Jim said, “Cried a bit. Resigned. No resistance after that. Put him in the crate in the basement, here’s your handcuffs back.”

He handed Fetch the handcuffs Virgil had been wearing when Fetch left him in Jim’s care, before taking off, leaving the two of them alone.

“What kind of friend do you have that you got all this done in…” she picked Fetch’s pocket for his phone and checked the time, “four hours?”

“Only one of the most powerful ones on the West Coast,” Fetch said, checking the envelope Jim had left on the counter and finding Lavender’s own phone.

He handed it over to her after snatching his own back.

“Heard anything from Mateo in those four hours?” Lavender asked.

“No,” Fetch said, “nor Delaney.”

“Hmm…” Lavender hummed, beginning to pace slowly through the kitchen as she thought deeply, “I could call Delaney and beat some information out of him. Maybe even get him to give up Erick. Then we’ll only have to worry about getting rid of Mateo after that.”

“He’ll see us coming and go into hiding,” Fetch said, “that’s what I would do at least.”

“Can’t you use your friend to track him down?” Lavender suggested.

“Do you have any idea how deep in debt I am right now?” Fetch said, “getting you out of a police station and moving and babysitting a hostage. That’s at least five jobs worth of favours that I won’t get paid for because they already did all this for me.”

“Alright, geez, calm down,” Lavender said, “okay, different plan. Faking my death?”

“That would lure him out and I can take a shot at him,” Fetch said, “literally. Unless you wanna do that part. Poetic justice of sorts.”

“Whoever gets the first chance?” Lavender compromised, “that still leaves Delaney though, who has Erick and pretty much the same taste as Mateo?”

“We need to get them together,” Fetch said, “but also apart, if that makes sense.”

“Arrange to meet at the same place and not tell either of them the other is coming?” Lavender suggested.

“I guess that’s the best choice we have,” Fetch said, “but it’s not enough.”

“What do you mean?” Lavender asked.

“Keller and Delaney are both working on their own agenda,” Fetch said, “it makes them unpredictable and two unpredictable parties is even more dangerous than them working together.”

“Then we just get more unpredictable than them,” Lavender said.

“Yes, and I know how to do that,” Fetch said, “we increase our numbers.”

“How? Aren’t you already too deep in favour debt?” Lavender asked, “and don’t look at me, I work alone. Or at least, I’m trying to.”

“Don’t worry, I know someone,” Fetch said, “but first things first. Convincing Keller with a fake picture that you’re no longer part of the equation.”

“You know someone who can use photoshop too?” Lavender asked.

“No,” Fetch said, “we’ll need fresh pork meat, about a quarter gallon of blood, and some makeup glue.”

“...do you have any idea how weirdly specific that is?” Lavender said, “have you done this before?”

“Yeah,” Fetch just said, and then refused to elaborate.

Being in somewhat of a rush, they got to work. Lavender was put on babysitting duty this time, much to her chagrin. But Fetch knew where to get all the things he listed, and she wasn’t even sure where the fuck they were thanks to the stupid trunk.

She took her frustration out on Virgil, throwing a couple buckets of cold water into the cage he’d been left in, until his sobbing bored her again. She headed back upstairs, looking around the cabin when Fetch returned again, with a decently-sized slab of pork meat, and a bottle of makeup glue.

“You forgot the blood,” Lavender said.

“No I didn’t,” Fetch said, pulling a set of plastic-wrapped needles from his pocket.

“It’s not gonna kill him, is it?” Lavender checked, realising he was going to use Virgil as a source for fresh blood.

“Nah, we’ll give him some fruit juice and a couple granola bars with chocolate; He’ll be just fine,” Fetch said, “it takes up to half a gallon to die from blood loss, and he’s not doing anything important or intense exercise right now, so he can miss a quarter gallon easy.”

“Can I watch?” Lavender asked.

“Yeah, why not,” Fetch said, picking up the needles and raiding the fridge before heading into the basement.

He wasn’t too amused to find the boy shivering, immediately pleading for mercy as his kidnappers returned, probably to torment and confuse him some more.

“Ah yes, very useful. Give him hypothermia, that makes it so easy to find a vein.” Fetch complained, unlocking the cage and dragging the terrified and shivering teen out, “Hold him down for me. Especially his arm, like so.”

He demonstrated how to pin the boy’s arm down, to which Lavender took over to hold him still, and his arm flat on the floor.

“P-please! W-what do you want?!” he cried.

“Just a little donation, it’s harmless,” Fetch said, “some people do this every month. You should consider it.”

He cleaned his arm, searched for a vein, stuck the needle in, missed, tried again, a little bruising never hurt anyone. Finally he got the blood flowing. A steady-ish stream of deep red liquid beginning to fill the bucket he’d designated to catch the blood.

“You’re sure this will fool him?” Lavender asked, moving to handgag Virgil to silence his whining a bit.

“Just wait until I’m finished,” Fetch said, looking over at her, “hmm…I’m thinking slit throat.”

“Personal, I like it,” Lavender said.

“Can you sit still for long enough for me to apply it though?”

“Make me~”

“I’m serious, Rhodes.”

“Yeah of course. What am I, five?”

Fetch rolled his eyes, guesstimating they had about a quarter gallon of blood right about now. He pulled the needle out, grabbing a bandage to cover the small puncture wound.

“That took longer than expected,” Lavender commented, looking at the surprisingly small amount of blood while Fetch dragged Virgil back to the cage and tried to prompt him to drink some orange juice and eat a granola bar.

“It’s a controlled flow so it takes a little longer yeah,” Fetch said, “unlike having your carotid artery sliced wide open, spraying more and more blood with every heartbeat.”

“You have an obsession with blood,” Lavender pointed out.

“It’s our lifeforce,” Fetch said, “a little bit of blood can tell you so much about a person…”

“Yeah I’m learning a lot about you,” Lavender said, “okay, let’s kill me.”

They headed back upstairs, leaving a very confused Virgil behind, and puzzled around a bit on how to get started.

“I think it’s definitely easier if you lie down,” Fetch said.

“I’m not going to lie on the floor,” Lavender said.

“You seemed perfectly content on the floor this morning,” Fetch said, “and this one is clean. Now, get down. The blood is gonna get everywhere when we apply it so when we start that’s also gonna be the scene of your death.”

“Alright, alright. Let’s use the kitchen, the white tiles form a nice contrast,” Lavender said, walking into the kitchen and reluctantly getting down on the floor.

Fetch followed with the things he’d need, grabbing a knife and a cutting board, sitting on the floor next to her while cutting the meat into smaller strips.

“With these, we’ll simulate the flaps your skin forms when cut deep enough,” he explained.

“I know what it looks like,” Lavender said grimly.

“Alright, lay down,” Fetch said.

“Ugh…”

She lay back on the hard, tiled floor, letting Fetch adjust her head and hair slightly, before he moved to sit over her to glue thin slices of pork meat to her throat.

“You ever thought you’d be doing this with a girl?”

“Certainly not twice,” Fetch said, “now stop talking, we don’t want to waste the blood.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop,” Lavender said, rolling her eyes.

“Just listen to me,” Fetch said, “I caught you by surprise from behind. You put up a decent fight, but the blade was already sinking into your skin and through your artery and windpipe.”

He held said blade against her throat, dribbling some blood over it, before thankfully taking it away.

“You went down fighting, blood spraying everywhere,” he continued, splattering some around her, across the floor and some down her chest, then he grabbed her arm.

“You tried to put pressure on the wound, but your strength was waning fast.”

He pressed her hand over the fake wound, dribbling more blood down her arm, before positioning it back on the floor.

“You breathed your last breath wondering if things would’ve gone differently if you had made different choices. Your life flashes before your eyes, rapidly leading up to this moment and then…you’re gone.”

It was as if she snapped out of some kind of trance all of a sudden. She involuntarily let out a shaky breath, as he got up, hoping he hadn’t noticed as he was too busy groaning like an old man as he pulled himself to his feet after sitting on his knees for too long. He wiped his hands clean, grabbing his phone to take a picture.

“Don’t look at me, look at the corner of the ceiling,” he instructed, readying the camera app, “now unfocus your eyes and don’t react to the flash.”

She relaxed her body, just as his phone flashed as he took the picture. The sudden burst of bright light messed up the composition, giving her an even paler look.

“Perfect,” Fetch said, “stunning even…” he pocketed his phone, before offering a hand to help her back up. The blood soaked into her shirt more, but she hardly even noticed, rubbing her eyes a bit with her clean hand.

“That… sigh I need a shower,” she said.

“You want to see the picture?” Fetch asked.

“After,” Lavender said.

“Alright, you go do that, I’ll check on Virgil and when you’re done you’ll contact Delaney before I send the picture to Keller.”

“Got it,” Lavender said, pulling the slices of pork from her throat and binning them before heading off.

Fetch looked over the picture once more, smirking a bit. Convinced Mateo would fall for it, no doubt.

“Let’s play you son of a bitch,” he said to no one in particular, before putting his phone away and going to check on Virgil.

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[villainsview]

Part 9

FULL ART by @scarletfish8eta

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Back at a much, much shabbier residence, Lavender woke up with a slight start. She wasn’t sure why. She couldn’t remember if it was something she dreamt, or if it was because she was not alone. Fetch was right next to her, snoring slightly, his arm resting around her waist. She also noticed she was wearing less clothes than usual, but then she remembered. She kissed him, and then some.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she slipped out of bed, finding a shirt on the floor and putting it on. She wanted to flee the room before he would wake up and make some dumb fucking comment about it, but then her phone started buzzing from…somewhere else on the floor.

“Fuck, where are you?” she mumbled, patting over other articles of clothing before finding her phone in her own jeans’ pocket.

Who the heck was calling her this early— Oh wait it was past ten AM— Wait again, it was Delaney calling. She quickly picked up to shut up her phone, hissing into the microphone.

“The fuck do you want?” she hissed.

“Ah Lavender, it’s so good to speak to you again~”

She rolled her eyes as he went on.

“Your voice is sweeter than honey—”

“If you’ve got nothing intelligent to say I’m going to hang up,” Lavender said.

She suspected it wouldn’t be the case, considering his involvement.

“Ah, right,” Delaney quickly said, “I…I wanted to offer to help you get away from Mateo. I know you can’t stand him, but…”

“I got it covered, so thanks but no thanks,” Lavender said.

“Wait, wait!” Delaney quickly said, “I’m serious, I-I want to help you.”

“Then you shouldn’t have gotten involved in the first place,” Lavender said.

“He’s my friend, what choice did I have?” Delaney said, “you know he asked me to bring that kid to him?”

“Yeah you pissed off a pretty big guy,” Lavender said, “I’m almost proud of you.”

Behind her, a groan as Fetch began to wake up from her talking.

“Hgn…Rhodes? Why are you on the floor?”

“Go back to sleep,” Lavender just said.

“What?” Delaney said.

“Not you, dumbass.”

“Sorry.”

“Are you on the phone?” Fetch asked, now sitting up in bed.

“Yeah, just shut up a second,” Lavender said, before returning to the phone call, “you were saying?”

“I want to help you get away from Mateo,” Delaney said.

“And how do I know you’re not just saying that because he told you to say that?” Lavender sighed.

She was getting tired of the manipulation. It was always something with that man.

“Because…I did a thing,” Delaney said, “for you… Hey, now’s your moment.”

Lavender was suddenly more awake as he seemed to talk to someone else. He’d been standing right next to Erick this whole time, who was struggling to stay on his feet, still strapped to the X-shaped structure, red welts across his thighs…he was trembling from the pain and exhaustion, barely registering when Delaney held the phone out to him. He’d taken the bit gag out before calling, trusting he’d be quiet after beating some sense into him. Erick slowly lifted his head, reading the caller ID on the phone. It was Lavender. If she was still with Fetch…

“H-help…” he choked out.

Lavender recognised the whine in his voice, turning around to face Fetch as she answered Delaney again.

“He’s not with Mateo?” she asked.

Fetch was immediately more awake too.

“No,” Delaney said, “he was supposed to be, but… Run away with me! I can take you anywhere you want, away from him.”

“And the kid?” Lavender asked.

“We can dump him somewhere, unless you’d rather keep him? Whatever you want! I can make your wildest dreams—”

“I need to think about it,” Lavender said, “don’t call me again. I’ll call you when I’ve figured some things out.”

“I’ll eagerly await your call— Oh she hung up already…”

Lavender lowered her phone after hanging up on Delaney, looking back over at Fetch.

“Mateo is full of shit,” she said, “he doesn’t have Erick.”

“But the picture?” Fetch said.

“Either fake or Delaney’s doing,” Lavender said.

“Either way this changes things,” Fetch agreed, “Keller doesn’t have any leverage over us.”

“Ha! Suck it!” Lavender said victoriously, “though the downside is we have no idea where Delaney took your kid now.”

“Why did he call you?”

“He wants to run away together or some bullshit,” Lavender said, “he screwed over Mateo and now he’s scared and needs me to hold his hand.”

“And you got proof that he has Erick?”

“Yeah I heard him. Sounded like he was about to cry.”

“He always sounds like that,” Fetch said, “so we go after Delaney now? Forget Keller?”

“No, we definitely still gotta get rid of him or he’s just going to keep trying,” Lavender said, “or find another kid to hurt.”

“So he screwed over Keller?” Fetch asked.

“Yup.”

“To get in your good graces?”

“Uhuh.”

“And you’re wearing my shirt?”

“Yeah— Hey, stay on topic!” Lavender said.

“I’ll need that back.” Fetch said, “Anyway, we can use this to our advantage. Ever heard of the phrase divide and conquer?”

“Yeah, fuck with their friendship and take both down individually,” Lavender said.

“Keller’s been trying to drive a wedge between us by asking me to kill you, but with this we can turn the tables on him,” Fetch said.

“I wish I could see the look on his stupid face when he realises his stupid friend betrayed him, for me!” Lavender said, a glint of joy in her eyes.

“Not so fast, we’ll need more info first,” Fetch said, “and if things work out the way we want  to, we won’t need that other kid anymore, so let’s start working on a ransom demand… I swear this is the last time I’m taking multiple jobs at once.”

“How hard can that be?” Lavender said.

“You don’t even want to know.” Fetch assured her, “First things first. Our guest can probably use a bathroom break, and then something to eat and drink.”

“I can do that,” Lavender said.

“Alright, then I’ll work on contacting his family,” Fetch said, “families tend to drag out the whole ransom thing to give the police a shot at finding their child, so if we get started on that now we can probably release him as soon as we don’t need him anymore.”

“And swim in cash,” Lavender said.

“Split evenly so we can each go our own way,” Fetch said.

“You wanna get rid of me that badly?” Lavender asked.

“I want my kid back, what you do with the rest of your life is none of my concern,” Fetch said, grabbing a cigarette and trying to light it, but Lavender took it from him before he got the chance.

“Not in the bedroom you’re gonna stink up the sheets!” she said, “go outside.”

“Alright, alright, fuck,” Fetch said, taking his cigarette back and putting it behind his ear before getting out of bed.

“GOD put on some pants!” Lavender said, finding his pair on the floor and throwing them at him.

“It’s never good enough,” Fetch said, knowing very well he was getting on her nerves.

He quickly left the room as she glared at him (after putting on his pants of course). They didn’t have time to mess around, really. Although the situation seemed to be a little more in their favour, it had also become much more unpredictable.

He thought back of the first couple pictures Mateo had sent him, with that rare defiant look in Erick’s eyes. Yet now, four days later Lavender said he sounded like he was about to cry. He also thought about the picture he was sent yesterday. Even if it wasn’t Mateo’s doing, it was still concerning.

“Stop crying, I’m just taking you to the bathroom you big baby!”

Lavender’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He could hear the teen sniffle as she escorted him to the bathroom, closing the door with a sigh after pushing him inside.

“Fetcher, can we tag out? He starts crying when you just look at him, it’s terrible,” Lavender called.

“I’ll watch him while you’re out then,” Fetch said, having found a note book among his things.

He hadn’t touched it in a while, since he only used it to write one thing, but it was the only paper he had now, so he wrote a ransom note on the last page.

“Out where?” Lavender asked, shouting a bit as she guarded the bathroom door.

“Out delivering the ransom note to the press,” Fetch said.

Lavender hesitated a moment, before deciding that Virgil was too much of a wimp to try and escape so she walked over to the kitchen, popping her head around the door opening.

“You want me to do what?” she asked, “why not his parents?”

“Police will be casing his home in case we contact his parents,” Fetch said, “we have too much on our hands to take any risks, so you drop this note in the newspaper’s mailbox, and some wannabe star reporter is gonna run with it, I guarantee you.”

“Fucking back on delivery duty again,” Lavender grumbled.

“You can also babysit if you don’t wanna go,” Fetch said.

“Uuuugh I’ll go, but I’m going to complain about it,” Lavender said, before going to check if Virgil was done yet.

She dragged him out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, sitting him on one of the chairs at the table.

“All yours,” she said.

“I’m almost finished,” Fetch said, scribbling away while pulling his handcuffs from his pocket and handing them to Lavender.

“Are these the ones without key?” she checked.

“No, those are mine and I definitely have the key for them,” Fetch said.

“Okay,” Lavender said, taking them and approaching Virgil.

“P-please don’t hurt—”

“Oh my God shut the hell up.” Lavender said, cuffing his left hand to the leg of the table, “I hear another word from you and you will get hurt.”

“The rules are simple, Virgil,” Fetch said, “you behave, you don’t get hurt. Your parents pay up, you go free. Understood?”

Virgil quickly nodded, leaning away from Lavender a bit as she scared him the most currently, but Fetch didn’t look very satisfied with his answer.

“I don’t hear a response,” he slowly said.

“Um…y-yes?” Virgil said quietly, his eyes darting between Fetch and Lavender.

“Yes sir,” Fetch corrected, “they really don’t teach kids manners anymore these days, do they?”

“This explains so much though,” Lavender said, “no wonder our little blond friend is always so formal.”

“Only when others are around,” Fetch said, “less so when it’s just the two of us.”

Finally, he tore a page from his notebook, putting it on the table while he folded the page a couple times before handing it to Lavender.

“Deliver this to the local paper,” he said.

Lavender took the note, unfolding it to read it.

“Your handwriting is even worse than Mateo’s,” she said.

“Are you only able to focus on things you find entertaining?” Fetch asked.

“It sure as hell makes life more fun,” Lavender said, pocketing the note, “like, what else kinda things you write? More ransom notes?”

She grabbed Fetch’s notebook before he could stop her, opening it on a random page, skimming over more of his scribbles. Fetch sighed defeated, rubbing his temples as he waited for the inevitable mockery.

“Luscious and red, from skin ripped and torn, from the deep wounds that bled,” she slowly read, squinting at the handwriting a bit, “is this a song?”

“It’s a poem,” Fetch said, drawing out a laugh from the young woman.

“Feel the twisting of the blade, Sinking in, the screams you made — You wrote a poem about stabbing someone? That’s so tacky!”

“It’s private,” Fetch said, getting up and snatching the notebook back.

“Aww, it was just getting good, I want to read more,” Lavender teased, trying to take it back, but he held it out of her reach.

“Get out of here, Copenhagen.”

“Shut!”

After that she finally headed out to deliver the note, leaving Fetch alone with Virgil, who seemed a mix of confused and mortified. Fetch just gave him a glass of water and made him a sandwich to eat, refilling the glass after giving him his sandwich, since the kid was probably thirsty. About halfway through his sandwich, the teen managed to gather enough courage to speak up.

“M-my parents have money,” he said, “th-they’ll pay…”

“Good, then all you have to do is behave,” Fetch said, “after you’ve eaten I’ll get you more comfortable. You’ll be home in a couple days and you can forget all about this. Now be quiet.”

“O-okay— I- I mean, y-yes, sir!”

Fetch nodded satisfied, sitting back to light a cigarette. By the time he finished smoking, Virgil had finished his meal and second glass of water, so it was time to get him settled back in his room. He whimpered as Fetch uncuffed him, but didn’t dare to struggle. Fetch re-cuffed his hands behind his back, taking him back to the room and letting him get comfortable in a corner.

“Try not to do anything stupid,” he warned, “so long as your parents aren’t the kind of morons to go awol while their kid is missing, you’re gonna be just fine.”

“...w-what?”

“Ignore me,” Fetch said, shaking his head and leaving the room.

He found a TV in the living room, and after some zapping found the local channel. Leaving it on as background noise to keep an eye on how close the police were to finding anything about Virgil’s disappearance.

He got his answer sooner than expected, and it wasn’t an answer he liked. He’d gone back to the kitchen to make himself some coffee, and walked back into the living room just as the news discussed Virgil’s disappearance.

“And this just came in, ladies and gentlemen. Yesterday Virgil Vaughn, aged sixteen, disappeared only for pictures of him appearing to be tied up and gagged to show up online on his own social media channels hours later. Today, already an important development in the case as a suspect has been arrested on suspicion of being involved in the case. She was caught lingering outside the office of the local newspaper, allegedly carrying a ransom note addressed to Virgil’s parents.”

Fetch felt like he aged ten years during the short segment, putting his coffee down before he’d get the urge to throw it across the room again.

“Stupid fucking bitch,” he grumbled.

What to do?

How could this have happened?

How much time did he have before she would sell him out while she feigned innocence?

He had to act fast, but he wasn’t sure what to do. Unless…

“Oh she’s going to get it now,” he grumbled, pulling out his phone and scrolling through his contacts before finding the one he was looking for and quickly pressing the dial button.

“Tito? It’s me. Listen, I need a favour and I need it fast.”

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[villainsview]

Part 8

FULL ART by @scarletfish8eta

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Mateo was in a bit of a pickle. His best friend had ghosted him after promising to try and regain their bargaining chip, and he felt like he’d just given up on the opportunity of a lifetime for the sake of a bluff. Unbeknownst to him, however, Delaney hadn’t lost Erick at all. He was merely pretending.

On the morning that he was supposed to drive over to his current address, he had called his friend instead to admit that the teen had escaped — he hadn’t — and promised to get him back, he just needed some more time. Mateo had given him the benefit of the doubt, but Delaney had been quiet all day now.

He tried calling him to offer help since he was new to the whole kidnapping part, but his calls went straight to voicemail. He was starting to get worried. Had something happened to his friend? Or was there something more sinister at play? It couldn’t have been Fetch or Lavender, he was sure they still very much believed he already had Erick with him, but he didn’t. All he had were pictures to entertain him.

Frankly, it was very disappointing. He craved the warm, soft touch of young skin. He missed hearing sobbing and moaning as they squirmed under his touch. The scent of a fresh catch… With a disappointed sigh, he decided to look through his archive of videos. Maybe he could find one he remembered vividly enough to bridge him over until he had the real thing again…

Meanwhile Erick was very much still a captive, strapped up in Delaney’s backseat, the tinted windows hiding his current predicament. His hands were cuffed in front of him for a smidge of more comfort, but connected to the collar with a short chain, forcing him to keep them up at about halfway up his chest. His legs were cuffed, but not chained together, and he was gagged with a simpler ballgag.

However, Delaney had tied a cloth over his mouth and nose, making it harder to breathe, so he didn’t have much of a choice but to sit quietly for the whole trip. The son of a bitch was learning.

Occasionally, he caught Delaney leering at him through the rear-view mirror, so he made sure to send a glare his way whenever he did. He’d overheard his phone call the other day, telling his partner that he’d escaped for some reason, and they’d been on the road ever since.

He’d driven through the night, and Erick could only hope his fatigue wouldn’t cause an accident. He glanced out of the window to get his bearings, but he knew he’d lost track of where they were since day one pretty much. Surely Fetch knew he was in trouble. What else had those pictures been for? No…

He reached up to rub his eyes, fatigue now beginning to get to him too. He couldn’t start thinking like that, or Delaney would win the mental game they’d been playing since they met. He couldn’t disappoint Fetch by losing. He sent another glare Delaney’s way, but he ignored him as he had to focus on driving, stifling a yawn in his hand.

The sun had just come back up, but he was too close to stop now. He was almost home. A beautiful luxury condo in the forest, mostly by his own design. He’d only hired an architect for all the technical detailing. His maths expertise was more aimed towards voltage and resistance after all. Feet and inches were a bit harder. Thankfully he could afford the architect, and a discreet one at that, for the construction of a particular room.

But first, the garage. He drove up his driveway before making a turn while the door slowly opened, sensing his phone near. After the door was open, he backed into the garage, making sure not to hit his other car. Then he cut the engine and pulled out his phone to close the garage door, waiting for it to have fully closed before turning in his seat to check on his special guest.

“In case you were wondering. Yes, we’re finally there~” he said.

Erick rolled his eyes. How could a man like him be so full of himself? Delaney ignored his look and got out, walking round to the side to let Erick out. He reached over to undo his seatbelt, his hands wandering along the way, but Erick refused him the satisfaction of flinching or squirming. Once the belt was off he was pulled out of the car.

Delaney had a hold on the chain connecting his wrist cuffs with his collar, pulling him through a glass door, out of the garage and into a small hallway. The floor was tiled with large, black, square tiles. They seemed cold, but they were actually quite nice and warm underneath his bare feet.

Delaney tossed his keys onto an accent table and continued, pulling Erick along through a large, open door frame into a large living room. Erick was a bit in awe. He hadn’t seen a space like this in forever. It wasn’t just big, but also perfectly filled with a large lounge set, matching carpet, matching scenic paintings, and even the view through the windows panning the entire wall seemed to match with the interior.

“Impressed~?” Delaney asked, giving the teen a moment to take it all in, “I installed all the lighting myself.”

Aaand what little respect Erick had gained for his taste was immediately gone. He rolled his eyes again while Delaney bragged about his lights, before finally moving on, pulling the teen up a floating staircase.

“You can use the guest bathroom to freshen up,” he said, “don’t bother trying to escape. All doors are locked electronically and only respond to registered fingerprints, AKA yours truly~”

Erick prayed he would ungag him so he could tell him to stop bragging, but Delaney showed him to this guest room first. It looked like an expensive hotel suite, as did the accompanying bathroom. From the fluffy white towels neatly folded and waiting for him next to the sink to the soft-looking bathrobe wrapped in plastic. Delaney forced the boy to kneel on the soft carpet in front of the bathtub, before beginning to take off his restraints, including the cursed collar.

“Don’t get used to it,” he said when the teen rubbed his throat in relief, “it’s a good look on you, so it’ll go back on after you’re done.”

He waited for the teen to finish growling and glaring at him before finally taking the gag off.

“You can use whatever is in this suite,” Delaney said while Erick tried to recover any feeling in his jaw, “you can throw that horrible shirt down the chute over there. I’ll bring you something new to wear when I’m finished in…let’s say an hour perhaps. I need a hydrating mask before these bags get any worse…”

“I don’t want to get changed,” Erick said while Delaney seemed distracted by his own reflection.

“If you haven’t bathed by the time I get back, I’ll give you a good scrubbing instead. Do you want that?” Delaney said, “I know I’d enjoy that much more than what I’m offering you now.”

Having said that, he left the teen in the bathroom and locked the door to the guest room behind him so he couldn’t escape while he was doing some self-care. He headed to his own bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed to take off his shoes and emptying his pockets.

He checked his phone. Seven missed calls from Mateo… he was feeling a little guilty. What was he going to do? He knew Lavender just wanted to get away from Mateo, but how was he going to convince her that he was the best way to go about that, not to mention getting her away from that other guy. For starters he had the living proof that he had turned on his good friend.

That was a start.

The rest…maybe he could think clearer after a shower. Or else there was plan B. He smirked, before getting undressed and disappearing into his own bathroom for a good hour. After he was refreshed and more awake, he returned to the guest bedroom, unlocking the door and checking inside. Erick had showered, and now sat on the edge of the bed with the bathrobe wrapped tightly around him. He stiffened a bit as Delaney walked in, throwing him a wary glare.

“What’s your size?” Delaney asked, walking over to the wardrobe, which wasn’t empty.

“...a large,” Erick said, “sometimes medium, it depends on the brand.”

“Hmm…these are European sizes, so let’s start with large,” Delaney said, pulling out a white, buttoned, silk shirt.

He handed it to the boy, but he didn’t take it.

“I’m not getting changed with you in the room.”

“I can turn around~”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“We’re going to have to do something about that tongue of yours,” Delaney said, opening a drawer and grabbing a pair of black boxers.

He tossed them at Erick, along with the shirt.

“Use the bathroom, but I’ll wait right here to finish your look~”

He picked up the collar he’d taken off earlier, holding it up for Erick to see. The teen grimaced, before locking himself in the bathroom. He waited a good couple seconds, wanting to make sure he wouldn’t follow to take a peek after all, before begrudgingly getting dressed.

The silk felt nice on his skin, but it was still just a shirt and underwear, and he felt as vulnerable as the time Delaney demanded for him to take his jeans off. He felt exposed. He didn’t want to leave that bathroom, but if he started to cower in a corner right now he would lose regardless. So he took a deep breath and stepped outside. Delaney was looking over him with a smirk.

“Very good~” he said, “now come over here.”

“You get over here,” Erick retorted.

Delaney’s smirk dropped. This fucking kid— No matter, he’d regret everything soon. He closed the distance between them with a couple of steps struggling slightly to get the collar back on as Erick put up a fight again, but eventually he managed, the padlock clicking in place, and he quickly regained control by yanking on the back of the collar.

“Son of a— Ack!”

“Music to my ears~” Delaney said while the teen gasped for air, “walk with me now~”

He loosened his grip slightly, allowing him to breathe again before dragging him along.

Much to Erick’s discomfort, Delaney now took him into a room which interior didn’t quite fit the rest of the house, but it somehow perfectly fit Delaney. Oddly-shaped furniture with obvious restraints, the walls lined with more restraints and other things of which Erick didn’t even want to know what it was. Suddenly, Delaney turned him around and shoved him against an X-shaped structure near the wall.

“Ow! Fuck off, let go!”

“No, I think it’s high time we dealt with that attitude of yours,” Delaney said.

It was a bit of a struggle, but he managed to lock the teen’s wrists in tighter, less comfortable leather cuffs attached to each top end of the X-shaped structure. Erick tried kicking at him, but Delaney only had to step back. Not to mention the wrist cuffs were so high he had to stand on his toes to alleviate some strain on his arms.

Delaney chuckled, watching him struggle for a moment before going to grab something from the wall behind him. Erick craned his neck to see what he was up to, but the boards he was strapped to blocked his view. Delaney returned soon enough however, dangling a black rubber bit gag in one hand, and a riding crop in the other.

“Are you familiar with the word discipline?” he asked.

“You ever heard of overkill?” Erick retorted.

Whack!

The teen gasped sharply as the riding crop harshly flicked across his thighs, leaving a fiery, red streak on his pale skin.

“You’re going to get another one for every comment and eye roll you’ve given me so far and from here on,” Delaney said, “I’ve been looking forward to this…”

He put the crop aside, forcing the bit between the teen’s teeth and fastening it behind his head, stroking his cheek after he was done.

“You’re going to wish you’d behaved from the start,” he said.

“Fhhk ymm…”

Thwack!

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[villainsview]

Part 7

FULL ART by @scarletfish8eta

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“Ready to see the master at work?” Fetch said, while he and Lavender were staking out their target’s school.

Home was no good since he barely left his room after getting out of school, so as was often the case, grabbing them on their commute home would be the most efficient.

“Could you be any more full of yourself?” Lavender said, rolling her eyes.

She’d changed clothes for the occasion, wearing all black, her hair hidden under a black beanie, half of her face intended to be hidden with a black kerchief as well.

“I’m not full of myself, I just know what I’m capable of,” Fetch said, “now, do you remember the plan?”

“It’s a stupid plan,” Lavender said.

“Tell it to me anyway,” Fetch said, ignoring her criticism.

He knew he was right after all. Lavender made a point to roll her eyes exaggeratedly with a deep sigh.

“Pretend to rob him to distract him, then you grab him and drag him into your stinky van,” she said.

“Good enough,” Fetch said, “go on then. He should be out soon. You stalk him on foot and I’ll be parked in the alley.”

“I know, I know, stop telling me what to do,” Lavender said, flipping him off as she got out of the van.

Fetch sighed, but savoured his couple minutes of peace and quiet as he drove off to the alley they agreed to meet at. Meanwhile Lavender did what she did best; blending into the crowd as she looked through the students that began piling out of the school, until she spotted their target.

He was a shy one, keeping his head down as he tried to navigate out of the crowd as fast as possible, probably playing loud music on his headphones to drown out the noise and laughter from the other kids, and her footsteps as she followed him.

She made sure to keep a considerable distance, only closing in as they were coming up on the alley they agreed it would go down at. She pulled up the kerchief to hide her face, quickening her pace as she approached the young man. Just as he passed the alley, she caught up, pulling out her knife before wrapping her arm around him and holding it against his throat.

“Holy shit—”

“Wallet and phone!” Lavender hissed, pushing him into the alley.

He stumbled, before turning around with his hands up.

“I-I’ll give you the cash, b-but can I keep my wallet, please?” he bargained.

“Your whole fucking wallet and your phone!” Lavender yelled, keeping his attention on her.

He’d tried to glance around for help, and she didn’t want him to see Fetch as he was calmly smoking outside his parked van. Virgil whimpered, no hope for help as he began to pull his wallet from his pocket.

“Okay, okay, okay, p-please just calm down...”

He was a little breathless, pulling out his phone as well, his hands shaking as he disconnected his headphones, before trying to hand the items over to Lavender.

She kept her distance, however, waiting for Fetch to finally toss his stupid cigarette and saunter over. She snatched the wallet and phone from Virgil, just before Fetch finally caught up and grabbed the kid from behind, pulling a rag from his pocket and beginning to try and stuff it into his mouth.

Lavender watched how he made very quick work of silencing the teen, keeping him under control by twisting his arm on his back. He was physically stronger than the teen, but it looked like he didn’t even need to be as he walked him to his van and coaxed him to climb in through the side door.

Lavender followed, watching how he quickly restrained the teen. It was slightly infuriating. Maybe there were a couple things she didn’t know about yet. Like the way he coiled his ropes beforehand, so he only had to slide them over his wrists and pull it tight to lock them in place. Same for his ankles. Then all it took was another rag tied over his mouth to keep the first rag inside, and a short rope to hogtie him so he couldn’t go anywhere.

All in all from the moment she pushed Virgil into the alley to this second when Fetch reached out his hand to her to help her climb into the van as well, it couldn’t have taken more than ten minutes. She took his hand, but only because he was blocking the handle she would’ve grabbed otherwise and climbed in.

“Hold him down,” Fetch said, closing the side door and getting behind the wheel, “throw his things out the window, they’ll only use it to track us.”

“I know, shut up,” Lavender said, using the back door to toss Virgil’s wallet and schoolbag out just before Fetch drove off.

But his phone…she turned it off and pocketed it, before sitting besides Virgil and making sure he wouldn’t struggle too much…but he wasn’t making any attempts to. He just lay there, sobbing quietly, not even daring to look at her.

“What a wuss,” she sighed.

“You picked him out,” Fetch said, blending in with the other traffic,

“just a means to an end, remember?”

“A boring one—”

“This isn’t for your entertainment, Rhodes. You opened this can of worms with Mateo and you’re gonna lie in it if you want me to help you until we’ve cleaned the whole thing up.”

“I guess you’re right about one thing,” Lavender said, “Mateo is a disgusting worm.”

“Let’s just get this dealt with before he puts his worm somewhere it doesn’t belong,” Fetch grumbled.

He drove them to the safehouse they picked out. Again one of Mateo’s properties that Lavender knew of, insisted it would be safe to use. After all, it would probably be the last place he’d look if he was after them. Fetch had no choice but to agree. He didn’t have anything better to offer in this town after all.

When they arrived, Lavender severed the rope holding Virgil in a hogtie, and Fetch carried him inside, grabbing a chair from the kitchen and dragging it into one of the other rooms before sitting him down.

“Do you wanna do the honours?” Fetch asked, keeping his hands on the teen’s shoulders to keep him down.

Lavender looked at them from the door opening. Virgil seemed scared and confused, but it was just…not quite it.

“Nah,” she said, “I’m going to buy some food.”

She waved the bit of cash she’d taken out of Virgil’s wallet before throwing it away.

“Could you get me a pack of Marlboro while you’re out?” Fetch asked, pulling out his own wallet to give her some extra cash.

“Sure,” she said, walking over to take his money before heading off.

Fetch meanwhile tied Virgil down to the chair.

“It’s nothing personal, kid,” he said, “just business. Now smile~”

He held up his phone, going to take a picture. He hesitated only slightly, before pretending it was just another proof of capture picture. There was something peculiar about the teen’s expression though. He looked…tired, especially when he was taking the picture. But Fetch brushed it off and left the room, sending the picture to Mateo.

We can trade

He put his phone away, just as Lavender returned. The store wasn’t too far from their hideout after all.

“Here’s your lung cancer,” she said, handing him the cigarettes.

“My lungs are fine,” Fetch insisted, “anyway, kid’s settled and I sent a pic to Mateo. You sure he’ll reply?”

“Oh he’ll be interested,” Lavender said, “just wait and see.”

“Hm…” Fetch just said, grabbing a cigarette from his new package and lighting it, “Something about him though,” he said.

“Besides boring?” Lavender said, swatting his smoke away from herself a bit.

“More like boredom,” Fetch said, “he doesn’t fight at all. It’s probably just a different kind of survival instinct but still…reminds me of Erick.”

“Oh come on, it’s not like he’s dead,” Lavender said.

“No, of course not,” Fetch said, “but how long did those other kids last?”

“I don’t want to talk about that,” Lavender immediately answered, “I mean, it was months for most, but that’s all I’ll say.”

“Alright,” Fetch said, “at least I don’t have to worry for his life, only his sanity.”

“He’s strong,” Lavender admitted, “you don’t have to worry too much. Go make yourself some coffee or whatever else calms you down. I’ll babysit Virgil.”

“I know what your babysitting looks like, try and keep him in one piece.” Fetch said, but he wasn’t about to say no to some fresh coffee, “Keep your knife here,” he added, holding up his hand.

“You want me to go in unarmed?”

“Rhodes…” Fetch sighed.

She let out that impish laugh again, tossing him her knife, nearly cutting him as he caught it a bit wrong. He shook his head, putting the knife on the table before making his coffee.

Lavender didn’t need her knife. She just needed the phone she stole, and Virgil’s fingerprint to unlock it. He resisted slightly while she did that, as if he already knew what was about to happen.

“Let’s see which apps you frequent~” Lavender said, using his head as an armrest as she scrolled through his phone.

Virgil whined a bit, but didn’t dare move as she was standing close enough to hurt him, and he didn’t want to get hurt. She found his most-used apps were a combination of two or three chatting apps, and he had a lot of conversations with a lot of different people.

“Look at you, Mr popular behind the screen,” she said, “is that a video of you playing some game? That’s so lame…but I guess I can get plenty people riled up like this~”

She snapped a couple of pictures with his own phone. She had free range in all his personal messages, finding a large server in which he seemed to be most active.

“Got a message for your friends you want me to add?”

“Mmmgh!” was all Virgil managed to produce.

“Oh I’ll send it to your mommy too, don’t worry,” Lavender said, sending the message right in the middle of a busy chat.

Immediately his phone started pinging with mentions, private messages, even a couple attempts to call him. Lavender laughed amused, while Virgil hung his head in defeat, beginning to sob.

“Oh some of these reactions are great!” she said, “let me read them out for you…”

Meanwhile Fetch was trying to calm down with his coffee, carefully taking the first sip and enjoying the taste when his phone started ringing. He checked the ID. It was Mateo.

“Took you long enough.” Fetch sighed, before picking up, “Hey. You got my message?”

“You two have a brass pair, don’t you?” Mateo grumbled on the other side of the line.

“Nope, just me,” Fetch said, “Rhodes has no idea, but she was a good source of information.”

“How stupid do you think I am?” Mateo said, “I know you’re working together with her.”

“Whatever gave you that idea?” Fetch asked, playing innocent.

“Because someone is posting on Virgil’s socials, and that’s not your style now, is it?”

Fetch chewed on his tongue, praying for patience, while Mateo took his silence as confirmation.

“No matter,” he said, “it’s a tempting offer, it really is. The picture you sent was so cute, I had to…relieve myself. I hope you don’t mind me using yours until we can come to an agreement.”

“You better be bluffing, Keller, I’ll kill you,” Fetch growled.

“I think you already know that I’m not,” Mateo said, one could hear the grin in his voice, “now I already told you the terms of this deal. If you can’t hold up your end, I don’t need to hold up mine. Poor little Erick, abandoned by everyone…”

“Let me talk to him,” Fetch demanded again.

“No,” Mateo just said, “if you’re working together with Lavender it should be easy to end her. Don’t contact me again until you have proof of her death.”

“Keller—” the line went dead.

To make matters worse, he followed up with a picture. Fetch knew he just wanted to taunt him into doing something rash, but he had to know how he was doing. He followed the link in the text and waited for the image to load up.

It was the yoghurt picture Delaney took, but Fetch fell right for it. Enraged, he threw his coffee against the wall, breaking the cup and leaving a large stain.

“RHODES!” he yelled, marching over to Virgil’s room.

He kicked in the door, catching her holding the teen’s phone.

“Damn, who spit in your coffee?” she asked, not even bothering to hide it.

“YOU!” Fetch yelled, “I TOLD YOU TO THROW THAT PHONE AWAY!”

“Did you hear back from Mateo?”

“DID YOU REALLY THINK HE WOULDN’T BE LURKING ON THE KID?!” Fetch yelled, “YOU RUINED THE FUCKING DEAL!”

Lavender sensed it wasn’t the deal he was mad about. Surely he’d be more flexible than that.

“What happened?” she asked.

Fetch considered to keep yelling at her, but he glanced at Virgil, who seemed absolutely terrified at this point. Who were these crazy people and what the fuck did they want from him? Fetch just about managed to keep his cool, grabbing Lavender by the arm and dragging her out of the room, slamming the door closed.

“Give me that!” he hissed, snatching the phone from her hands and slamming it on the ground, breaking it in pieces.

“Oh come on, how are we going to contact his parents now?” Lavender said.

“Phone books still exist— That’s not the point, Rhodes! The point is you ruined it with your fucking need for attention and now the only way to get Erick back is to kill you after all!”

“I’ll cuff you again,” Lavender said, taking a step away from him.

“THEN GIVE ME A REASON RHODES!” Fetch yelled.

“We can still do this, we just have to be a little smarter about this!” Lavender said, “he’s just trying to piss you off so you’ll do exactly what he wants. You can’t let him have that much power over you!”

“He has Erick!”

“Why do you care so much for him anyway?! Didn’t you fucking kidnap and torture him too? What changed?” Lavender said.

“Nothing!” Fetch snapped, “I don’t know, I just do! Mind your own business! None of this ever would’ve happened if you’d done that in the first place!”

“Well good luck on changing the past,” Lavender said, “if you’ll just fucking chill for a second. It’s probably not even your fault you care for him, but you can’t let Mateo use that against you. Be the bigger man.”

“I am the bigger man!”

“Then fucking act like it, jeez,” Lavender said, “wait…that’s it! Acting!”

“What the fuck are you on about now?” Fetch sighed, feeling another headache coming up.

“We pretend I’m dead to lure him out,” Lavender said.

“He won’t fall for that, he’s demanding a picture,” Fetch said.

“Then we’ll fake the picture, duh,” Lavender said, “I’m sure we can think of something. I’ll even make you a new coffee if that helps.”

She gestured at the massive coffee stain on the wall.

“Fuck’s sake,” Fetch just grumbled, lighting a new cigarette and leaning against the counter as he mentally counted to ten.

“We’ll get him back,” Lavender said, surprisingly gently, “so long as it results in Mateo’s death.”

“Oh it fucking will,” Fetch said.

“What did he do?” Lavender asked.

Fetch just handed her his phone. The picture was still open and she knew his passcode anyway. She didn’t look at it for long, closing the webpage so Fetch didn’t have to see it again either before handing his phone back.

“He’ll get over it,” she said, sounding sincere enough, “he knows you care about him. He did when I had him, and he still does, even with a rat like Mateo.”

“Life would be so much easier if we could just…not care at all,” Fetch sighed.

“Yeah, not like we get to pick and choose,” Lavender said, agreeing, “though with you and Erick…it’s like the reverse of um…what’s it called? Copenhagen?”

“It’s not,” Fetch said a little too quickly, “and it’s Stockholm. How could you be that far off?”

“It’s not too far off,” Lavender quickly said, “it’s all Scandinavian anyway— Don’t laugh at me!”

She caught him grinning, grabbing his cigarette from between his fingers and drowning it in the sink.

“Hey! Those things don’t come cheap!”

“They stink up the whole place, you’re gonna get your stink all over me.”

“You don’t get to complain, Copenhagen,” Fetch said.

“Don’t fucking call me Copenhagen you dick!” Lavender snapped, “stop laughing!”

She grabbed the front of his shirt as she caught him smirking, but that only seemed to amuse him more.

“Make me,” he said.

She raised her fist, ready to deck him, but instead she found herself pulling him closer. His stupid grin was gone as soon as their lips met. She could’ve claimed her victory right there and then, but instead things went from bad to worse and she couldn’t let go of him as easily.

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FULL BONUS ART also by @scarletfish8eta

[villainsview]

Part 6

FULL ART by @scarletfish8eta

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“Finally here,” Delaney sighed, turning off the car engine after stopping in the driveway of another secluded cabin.

It was a bit overgrown by the surrounding forest, and no doubt as grimey as the last place, but it would have to do for the night. He got out, grabbing a bag of shopping he’d picked up on the way from the passenger’s seat and headed inside. He found the light switch and his way to the kitchen. A sticky layer of dust was covering everything in here. He considered suggesting that cleaning service to Mateo again. It was desperately needed.

He put the bag down and headed back outside, unlocking and opening the trunk of his car. Erick had been perfectly quiet the rest of the ride, but when he heard the trunk open he lifted his head a bit, quietly garbling something through the gag, half his face was wet from drool, the rest pooled into the carpeting of the trunk.

“Had a good nap?”

He began to fumble with the chains to slowly release him. Juuust enough so that he could walk into the cabin by himself. But he was a bit numb after being crammed in the trunk for hours, and his knees hurt from his earlier actions, so after Delaney guided him to climb out of the trunk, he fell onto the ground, unable to catch himself as his arms were still bound behind his back.

“Not so tough now, are you?” Delaney said, watching him struggle a bit before helping him back to his feet and taking him inside, “let’s get you cleaned up. Where is the bathroom…”

Some doors later he found the bathroom, taking Erick inside and seating him on the closed toilet lid, before beginning to remove the blindfold and gag. Erick gasped a bit again, his jaw as sore as his legs. The light blinded him, so he couldn’t quite see right.

“Give yourself a moment to adjust,” Delaney said, searching the cabinets until he found a washcloth and wetting it in the sink.

Erick ignored him, his vision beginning to steady. He was looking for an escape route, eyeing the open door when Delaney stepped into his field of vision, reaching out to touch his face, but Erick pulled away.

“Don’t fucking touch me!”

He tried kicking at him now that his legs were free, but Delaney stood too close to really get a good swing in before he grabbed him by his collar again and pulled him closer.

“Settle down,” he said, “you got mud on your face, it’s unsightly.”

“You’re unsightly!”

“Shut it,” Delaney said with a tired sigh, grabbing him by the jaw and beginning to clean up his face, “when I’m done I’ll release you and step out a couple minutes so you can use the toilet. After that, if you keep up that horrible attitude of yours, I’ll be forced to use that taser again. Understood?”

“How shocking,” Erick said unimpressed.

Delaney seemed equally unamused, but didn’t say or do anything other than to clean his face a little rougher before letting go of his jaw. After that he slowly started taking off all the leather cuffs, leaving only the collar. Erick hated it. It was uncomfortable in so many ways. He couldn’t really turn or tilt his head however he wanted without feeling it tighten slightly. It was only somewhat comfortable if he kept his head up straight.

“I’ll be back in five minutes, whether you’re done or not,” Delaney said, taking the other restraints and stepping outside.

As soon as the door closed behind him, he reached up to try and take it off, but something was blocking the straps from moving.

“Come on…” Erick sighed, moving over to the mirror to see better.

It was broken, but the shards were large enough for him to see something dangling from the back; a little padlock.

“Fuck!” the teen hissed under his breath.

Okay.

Plan B.

Escape.

He went over to the window. It was much too high and narrow to climb through, but he could just about look outside if he stood on his tiptoes. It was dark out, so as he guessed they probably stopped for the night. That meant he had some time.

Okay.

Time to find a better window to escape…literally and figuratively. It would depend on what he would get to see on the other side of that door, and to get there he had to behave.

Within reason of course.

He used the toilet, washed his hands once, twice, thrice— He tore himself away from the sink, shaking a bit when he heard the door open again. Delaney stepped back inside, a little disappointed to see he was ready, and armed with his taser.

“You gonna behave?” he asked.

“You gonna stop being a creep?”

Zzt…

Delaney held down the button on the taser, pointing it at him as a warning.

“Try again,” he said.

“What do I really gain from behaving besides a little less pain?” Erick said.

“Well if you insist, I do like the way you scream when I tase you,” Delaney said, threateningly stepping closer.

“Okay, okay!” Erick quickly said, backing away, “truce?”

“What kind of position do you think you’re in?” Delaney said, annoyed.

“The kind where I can make your job less hard?” Erick said, “Do you really want to drag me around because I’m too stunned to walk?”

“You’re not that heavy,” Delaney said, setting another step closer.

Erick backed away, but he could feel the cold tiles on the wall against his back. He eyed the door. Could he make a run for it? Could he remember the route to the front door? He tried to recall, but all he remembered was getting turned around a lot because Delaney didn’t know where the bathroom was when he brought him in.

Slightly defeated, he let Delaney close the distance between them. He grabbed a hold of the ring on his collar again and began dragging him out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, where all the other leather cuffs were waiting for him.

Thankfully he didn’t use the taser again, but he put it threateningly on the table before picking up the smallest set of cuffs and strapping them around the boy’s wrists. He then snapped them together behind his back and pushed him to sit down in one of the chairs.

“There,” he said, “it’s not so bad to behave, is it?”

“Gotta entertain myself somehow—”

Slap!

Delaney smacked his hand across his face, before grabbing his jaw again.

“Enough!” he hissed, “I’ll give you something to drink and eat, but after that I’m gagging you again, since you can’t seem to shut up!”

“Yeah I get that a lot—”

That earned him another slap. Both his cheeks were glowing from the recent impact, but he kept up his defiance while he still could. In reality he was terrified of what the man might be capable of, considering who he worked for, but Fetch would be mad if he gave in too easily, or rather, he would be disappointed.

Delaney seemed fed up and went to further unpack his shopping bag so he could fix up something to eat, though in hindsight maybe he should’ve ordered takeout instead because the place was so disgusting. Unfortunately it was getting too late for that. He needed to get some rest in, and also deal with the kid and take new pictures for Mateo to taunt Fetch with and win Lavender back. Maybe he would finally get to meet her this time. He’d been a fan of her work for a while now…

“Hey,” he said, taking his eyes off the food and looking over at Erick, who quickly pretended like he hadn’t been trying to see if he could loosen the cuffs.

“What?” he said.

“Have you met Lavender Rhodes?”

“Uh…yeah, she stabbed me with a marshmallow fork.”

“What was it like? What was she like?” Delaney asked.

“She was like…stabbing me with a red hot marshmallow fork,” Erick slowly said, wondering where the sudden interest came from.

Didn’t he know her?

“Besides that!” Delaney said, “what was she like? How does she dress? What does she smell like? What’s her favourite food?”

Erick blinked at the barrage of questions, before coming to the only logical conclusion.

“Oh my god ew,” he said, “you like her!”

“She’s a very interesting woman!” Delaney defended himself—

Wait.

Why was he arguing with a teenager?

“You’re just too young to understand,” he decided.

“At least I’m not naive,” Erick said, “you don’t stand a chance with her.”

“As if you know her so well,” Delaney said, refusing to fall for the boy’s tactics.

“I know people,” Erick said, “I know you work for Mateo, because she came to warn us that he was up to something. Now if that doesn’t mean something…”

“It doesn’t mean anything!” Delaney said.

“It means she likes him,” Erick said, “and I think it’s mutual. Fetch kept bringing her up after they parted ways.”

“So he’s the hopeless sap! What could she possibly see in him?” Delaney said.

“They have more in common with each other,” Erick said, “while you’re clearly some amateur. I bet they’re both laughing at all the mistakes you’ve made so far, together!”

“Shut up!” Delaney yelled, getting up and giving the boy another slap, “you…you insolent little— just you wait and see!”

“See what?” Erick said, “see Mateo talk you up to her? She hates his guts. It’s never going to work.”

Delaney grabbed him by the back of the collar again, pulling it up to choke the boy. What angered him the most really, was that he was right. Mateo did promise to put a good word in, but as they were now nothing he said would be good enough for Lavender.

But what would impress her enough? He glanced back down at Erick, letting go of the collar so he could gasp for air again. She hated Mateo’s guts, but did he have it in him to betray his good friend? For her?

“He’ll be mad, but he’ll understand in time…” he murmured.

“Cough! What— Ow!”

Delaney just smacked the back of his head in warning to stay quiet as he mulled over his thoughts further, before making a decision. 

“Let’s shut you up so I can eat in peace,” he said, picking up some more of the leather cuffs and crouching down behind the chair to strap them around his ankles.

From that angle he couldn’t kick at him either. He tried to pull his feet out of his grip, but that only resulted in Delaney squeezing his thigh uncomfortably close to his privates so he stopped trying. After getting the cuffs on, he used a short chain to connect them to his wrist cuffs, forcing his feet off the ground and effectively trapping him to the chair.

“You’ll be seated more comfortably if you spread your legs more,” Delaney said, putting his hands on his knees to push them apart, but Erick resisted.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” he said.

Delaney sighed annoyed, searching through his stuff before pulling out a ring gag, and much to his amusement, the boy seemed more confused than defiant about that item.

“Looks like there’s a couple firsts for you too,” he said with a chuckle, moving behind the teen and dangling the gag in front of his face.

“Get that thing away from— Agh!”

Erick tried to fight it, but Delaney grabbed a painful hold of his jaw as he forced the metal ring between his teeth, before fastening the strap behind his head.

“There. That’s a much better look on you,” Delaney said, circling back around, putting a hand under his chin, his thumb inside his mouth, pressing down on his tongue.

Erick managed about half a growl, shaking his head to try and pull out of his grip. Delaney chuckled before letting go, picking up another set of leather cuffs, strapping them just above his elbows and pulling them together, forcing Erick to sit up straighter to be even moderately comfortable. And lastly, he attached a chain to the back of the collar, forcing him to keep his head up too if he didn’t want to suffocate.

“Almost perfect…” Delaney said, circling back to the front and once again pushing his knees apart.

Erick glared at him. Physically…yes, it was much more comfortable. Mentally however… He didn’t like how he was looking at him, but fortunately he turned away after that, making his dinner. Every time he did glance back at him, Erick made sure to send him a glare, refusing to let him know how uncomfortable he was.

Especially that gag. He was really drooling uncontrollably now, despite how dehydrated he felt, a wet pool forming on his shirt, chafing uncomfortably between his skin and the collar...

When Delaney finally finished eating, he pulled out his phone again to take more damn pictures.

“Mateo is going to love these,” he commented, zooming in on his face.

Erick growled again.

“Hmm…hang on, I’ll start recording. Can you do that again? It’s very cute~”

Finally, the teen had no responses left, so he stayed quiet and Delaney chuckled victoriously.

“I knew I’d break you eventually,” he said, “now be a good boy and show us some tears…”

Erick shook his head, but Delaney already anticipated that and picked up his taser. A short burst was all he needed, recording the boy’s scream before zooming in on his face again to catch some involuntary tears.

“Very nice,” he said, “now one more last thing…”

He put his phone down, heading over to the kitchen to mix something up. He grabbed some yoghurt from his shopping bag, mixing it with a bit of water to give it a somewhat clearer look. He picked up the bowl and headed back to Erick, ignoring his questioning look and just tilted his head back before pouring some in the boy’s mouth.

He coughed, unable to swallow, but fortunately Delaney let go soon, and he could let it dribble out while he tried to breathe through his nose a bit more.

“Perfect, it almost looks real,” Delaney said, earning him another glare from the boy while the sticky mixture dribbled down his chin.

He just chuckled in reply, snapping a few more pictures before sending them to Mateo. He then wetted a paper towel to clean his face, and while he was doing that his phone began ringing.

“Hello~” he said as he picked up, putting a hand on Erick’s throat in warning to stay quiet.

“Brilliant work, Daniel, I’m very proud of you,” Mateo said from the other side of the line, “especially the picture of him crying. Although, about that last one…I thought we agreed you’d save him for me?”

“Now who do you think I am?” Delaney said, “it’s just a little yoghurt, but it looks real enough, doesn’t it?”

“....shit man, I can’t tell,” Mateo said, “but I believe you. Fuck that’s really going to piss him off, hehe, especially after the call I had with him. This is going to be great.”

“You’re very welcome,” Delaney said, “now I’m pretty tired from the drive, so I’m going to get him settled for the night and I’ll call you before I leave in the morning.”

“Of course,” Mateo said, “kiss him goodnight for me, he might as well start getting used to that already.”

“Naturally,” Delaney said, “see you tomorrow.”

He hung up, letting go of the teen’s throat again and patting him on the head as he put his phone away.

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[villainsview]

Part 5

FULL ART by @scarletfish8eta

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Lavender learned a new trick that day; how to break out of handcuffs without having to bother with picking the lock or dislocating a thumb or two. Apparently you could easily release the mechanism by sticking a pin into it and lifting the part that stopped the cuffs from opening.

“I only use handcuffs because they’re fast, but they’re by far not as secure as you might think,” Fetch said, handing the set back to Lavender.

“I knew that,” she said, “I had to hand you the pin, remember? You would’ve been trapped otherwise.”

“I would’ve found something,” Fetch said, fixing his hair a bit, “so, next hideout. Where?”

“About a day’s drive,” Lavender said, “if we switch halfway or a couple times we can either beat Delaney there or catch him there.”

“And what if you’re wrong?”

“Hey!”

“It’s not an insult, answer the question,” Fetch said, lighting a cigarette.

“We’ll need a new plan,” Lavender said, waving her hand a bit to keep the smoke away, “I actually have an idea too.”

“Go on,” Fetch said.

“Same as what we planned before,” Lavender said, “but we’ll just have to find another kid.”

“Erick is a means to an end for Keller,” Fetch said, “what in god’s name is going to convince him to let go of his best bargaining chip?”

“He has a list,” Lavender said, “a list of…young men he’s got his eye on, but is too much of a coward to act on it. It’s like a bucket list, but…gross. Thomas was on that list, but I beat him to it.”

“Why?” Fetch asked.

“I like the challenge,” Lavender said with a shrug, “if we work together we can grab another high risk target from the list. He won’t be able to resist.”

“You’re sure about this?” Fetch asked.

“He’s a man of disgusting but simple pleasures,” Lavender said, “most men are as far as I know.”

“You’re not wrong,” Fetch said, “so this list…?”

“I have a copy of it,” Lavender said, “but you’re gonna have to choose. Chase Delaney, or take a look at that list to trade Erick back.”

Fetch took a drag from his cigarette, thinking a second before speaking up.

“It might be the best shot we have,” he said, “Erick is a strong kid, he’ll hang in there as long as he needs to.”

“Then let’s make sure he won’t need to fight for long,” Lavender said, “come on, I’ll drive.”

“Absolutely not, you can navigate,” Fetch said.

“Oh come on!”

“It’s my van Rhodes, be glad I’m letting you in at all after the shit you just pulled.”

“It was self defence!”

While the two argued, Delaney wasn’t having such a great time either. He’d finally found a secluded enough place to stop and check on his captive. For the past hours he’d been kicking against the lid of the trunk, making quite a lot of noise. He probably should’ve kept him more tightly restrained after all.

He got out of the car, looking around to make sure he really was alone at the rest stop at the side of an empty road, before walking over to the trunk and opening it. Erick’s knees were looking pretty bruised, it seemed he’d been slamming them against the lid to make all that noise.

It seemed the frog-tie hadn’t been sufficient. He was still blindfolded and ball-gagged, but he was struggling to breathe.

“Oh shit,” Delaney said under his breath, pulling the boy to sit up so he could undo the gag.

Erick coughed, gasping for air a bit.

“Ugh…moron!”

“I beg your pardon?!” Delaney said.

“You don’t— cough! You don’t gag your hostages with a choking hazard if you take your eyes off of them for hours! Is this your first time or something?”

“Oh come on, you’re fine,” Delaney said, “I’ll give you some water if you quiet down. Maybe I’ll let you ride in the backseat if you promise to be a good boy.”

He hooked a finger around the ring on the front of the leather collar, pulling him closer.

“Are you a good boy~?”

“You should’ve taken a breath mint before asking,” Erick replied.

Delaney sighed, tightening his grip on his collar before slapping him across the cheek. Erick flinched, he didn’t see that coming, literally.

“Let’s try again,” he said, “are you a good boy?”

“I know I’d be better at this than you at least,” Erick said.

“Okay, no water for you,” Delaney decided, picking the ball gag back up.

“Shame I wanted to spit it back at— Ack!”

He was cut off as Delaney changed his grip from the front of the collar to the back of the collar, choking him slightly.

“It’s really a shame I don’t get to break you in,” he said, forcing the ball back between his teeth before pushing him to lie down on his stomach, strapping the gag back in place behind his head.

He let go of the collar, allowing Erick to take in a little more air again while he picked up a spare length of chain, hogtying the boy so he couldn’t kick around anymore. He stroked his hair a little to settle him.

“Just let the drool out, you’ll suffocate less,” he advised, before stepping back and closing the trunk again.

Meanwhile Fetch and Lavender were well on their way to the address Lavender had given him to drive towards, it was the place she had been hiding out at for a while now.

It was a little loft apartment in another small town, accessible through the fire escape so she didn’t have to deal with any annoying neighbours. As they stepped inside, Fetch took a look around. It seemed she had been living out of a grand total of three boxes, one of them left unopened.

“New place?” he asked.

“I move around a lot,” Lavender said, opening the unopened box, “don’t touch anything!”

“I’m literally just standing here.”

“Attaboy.”

“Woman!”

“Ah, here it is,” Lavender said, pulling out a sheet of paper that seemed to be a photocopy of a written list with two columns.

She showed it to Fetch, who peered at it.

“A substantial amount of names,” he commented.

“Yeah, uh…you can ignore the left column,” Lavender said, “they’re too easy, he could get them himself. Also…the majority of them are dead.”

“Keller’s doing?” Fetch asked.

“Yup,” Lavender said, looking over the list at a couple familiar names.

Fetch noticed her zoning out a bit. Normally he would’ve let her be, but they had no time to waste.

“Daydreaming, Rhodes?”

“Hm? Oh yeah, sorry, just thinking back,” Lavender said, “these boys were…basically my firsts.”

“Keller groomed you?” Fetch asked.

“He thought I was like him,” Lavender said, “he thinks a lot of people are like him, especially in this business.”

“What is in it for you?” Fetch asked, “it can’t be just the money.”

“Control,” Lavender said, “their life in my hands…”

“It’s a rush, isn’t it?” Fetch agreed, “anyway, since the left column is a no-go, which one do we pick from the right column that he won’t be able to resist? Or is it any of them?”

“Any of them really,” Lavender replied, looking over the list again, before pointing one out.

“That one,” she said, “I think I recall where he lives. We can figure out the rest of the details later, but it’s not far from here, and I remember Mateo whining about him a couple times before I screwed him over with Thomas.”

Fetch took the list, squinting a bit at the badly copied handwriting.

“Vir…Virgil? — What kind of shitty handwriting…”

“Virgil Vaughn,” Lavender translated, “I wonder what he’s like~”

“He’s just a means to an end,” Fetch reminded her, “speaking of…I don’t exactly feel comfortable trading a random kid for Erick and leaving him with Keller.”

“We can chip him and send the tracking link to the police,” Lavender said.

“You can’t just chip a human,” Fetch said.

“You know how easy we would have it if you’d have chipped Erick?” Lavender said.

“Rhodes. Focus.” Fetch said, feeling a headache coming up, “We grab this Virgil kid, use him to lure out Mateo and Erick, but we don’t actually let him make off with him. Okay?”

“We could ransom him after,” Lavender said.

“If he’s worth something,” Fetch shrugged.

“Probably,” Lavender said, “dad was a businessman or something, he’s a mommy’s boy. I think we can catch a decent price.”

“Okay, so that’s our plan,” Fetch said, “get the kid, kill Keller, get Erick back, ransom Virgil and then we never have to see each other again.”

“Deal,” Lavender said, “come on, I’ll drive.”

“Still no.”

“Come on!”

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[villainsview]

Part 4

FULL ART by @scarletfish8eta

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Fetch searched the rest of the upper floor to calm himself down, before heading back downstairs, finding Lavender in the kitchen going through the trash.

“Okay you really gotta wash your hands before we hit the road again,” Fetch said.

“Did you find anything useful?” Lavender asked, ignoring his comment.

Fetch showed her the pair of jeans.

“These are Erick’s… Where are they?”

“I don’t know,” Lavender said, “but I think I know who has him.”

“Not Keller?”

“Not yet,” Lavender said, getting up and handing him a receipt.

Someone had racked up quite a bill at an adult shop for genuine leather items, paid for by card, and the receipt was signed by…

“Delaney? Never heard of him.”

“He’s a friend of Mateo’s,” Lavender said, “also his top client. Weird, I didn’t think he’d be capable of kidnapping someone. He usually just takes whatever Mateo offers. But it explains how they got to Erick so fast while Mateo is supposed to be about three states over.”

“So he doesn’t have Erick?” Fetch confirmed.

“Not yet,” Lavender said, “but Delaney might be headed towards him.”

“Might be?” Fetch repeated, “give me something concrete to work with!”

“I dunno what else he would do, I never took him for a kidnapper. Mateo always complained he never got his hands dirty,” Lavender said, “and he left the hideout fast that implies he’s got somewhere to be.”

“With a two-hour headstart by now!”

“Yeah but there’s one of him and two of us,” Lavender said, “we don’t need to take as many rest stops, so if need be, we could be at Mateo’s wayyy before Delaney gets there.”

“And then what?” Fetch sighed.

“We kill Mateo, we ambush and kick the shit out of Delaney. Problems solved.”

“That won’t work,” Fetch sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache coming up.

“Oh what do you know?” Lavender said, “you’d be clueless about this whole thing if it weren’t for me.”

“Oh you— sigh… Let’s just figure out where he’d go next. You know more of these hideouts?”

“A few,” Lavender said, “they’re pretty far apart though, so if he’s travelling alone and Erick is putting up a fight, he’s gonna have to make other stops. And trust me, that kid is not a trunk person.”

“He does trunks just fine, he’s just not an other people person,” Fetch said.

“Ugh, don’t start crying,” Lavender said, “come on, let’s grab some snacks for the road and I’ll point you in the right direction to the other safehouse. Or I can drive!”

“No,” Fetch just said, heading outside and getting behind the wheel himself. 

They drove back to the cabin, so he could grab a couple of personal items while Lavender raided the kitchen for food. He’d been quiet for most of the trip, but she assumed he was just worried.

Had he found something else in the hideout that he didn’t show her? What could it be? And how dare he keep information from her? She found some ziplock bags to pack food in, before checking the fridge, hearing footsteps behind her.

“You don’t got any beer?” she asked.

“I don’t drink,” Fetch said.

“Just food it is then,” Lavender said, stealing a slice of cheese before closing the fridge. “By the way. You found anything else back at the hideout?”

“No.”

“Just the jeans?” Lavender asked, raising a brow.

“Just the jeans,” Fetch repeated, “why?”

“You’re acting weird.”

“We barely know each other.”

“You haven’t tried to insult me since we left that place,” Lavender said, “what else did you find?”

“Nothing else, I’m just tired,” Fetch said, “that for the road?”

He looked over the ziplock bags on the counter, but Lavender could’ve sworn he was ogling her hunting knife that she’d put down as well. She slowly reached into her pockets.

Had she imagined it?

No, better safe than sorry.

Besides, he still needed an attitude check after what happened earlier. Without a warning, she kicked against the back of his knees.

“Ow! What—”

She wasted no time, while he was unbalanced and caught off-guard, she pulled out the handcuffs she picked up earlier, locking them around one wrist while shoving him to the ground.

“Ow! RHODES!!”

Click.

The other cuff locked around his other wrist. She kneeled on top of his back, barely managing to keep him down as he tried to buck her off. It gave her a rush of adrenaline, just what she needed to keep him down, before grabbing his hair and getting close to his ear.

“What are you planning?” she asked.

“Get the fuck off of me!” Fetch hissed.

“Answer me first!” Lavender said, “You think I don’t know anything? I know you’re hiding something. Fess up!”

“You’re paranoid!”

She tightened the grip on his hair, reaching for her knife on the counter and pressing it against his throat.

“Spit it out!” she said.

“Get that knife out of my face!”

“Talk!”

“Oh for fuck’s sake— I called Keller,” Fetch admitted, “he sent me pictures, check my phone.”

She felt around his pockets for his phone.

“Not the back pockets, front right!” Fetch grumbled.

“My bad.” Lavender said, patting his butt once more just to annoy him, before finding his phone, “Passcode?”

“....one two three four.”

“That’s so easy,” Lavender said, rolling her eyes.

She checked the call log, seeing the outgoing call to Keller. She then checked his messages, finding the link and following it to the pictures.

“What did he say when you called him?”

“He took Erick as leverage instead of paying me…to kill you—”

“WHAT?!”

“I wasn’t going to, calm fucking down,” Fetch said.

“And why should I believe you?”

“You don’t have to,” Fetch said, “but you do whatever you want anyway, don’t you?”

“He said if you kill me he’d let Erick go?” Lavender asked.

“He did, but I don’t trust him,” Fetch said, “especially if he’s working with someone. Without you, I’d be outnumbered. If you need a reason to believe I won’t kill you, it’s because I still need you.”

“...good enough,” Lavender said, finally getting off of him, though she made no attempt to free him or help him sit up, leaving him to struggle on his own.

“You’re right, he wouldn’t just let Erick go,” she said, “I don’t really think he has a type beyond age, and he hasn’t been able to get his hands on anyone since some time before Thomas.”

“We need a new plan,” Fetch said, “uncuff me.”

“I don’t have the keys,” Lavender said.

“You’re kidding.”

“Heh, nope.”

“Rhodes!”

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[villainsview]

Part 3

FULL ART by @scarletfish8eta

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Three cups of coffee and several cigarettes later, it seemed like Fetch and Lavender were beginning to agree on a plan.

“So in summary,” Fetch said, “you offer Erick to Keller to make up for the whole Thomas thing. You tell me where the exchange is going to happen, and I kill Keller before he lays a hand on either of you.”

“Yeah that about sums it up,” Lavender said, “you are a good shot, right?”

“You come to me for help and then proceed to question everything?” Fetch asked, getting annoyed again.

“The expression on your face is worth it,” Lavender said with a slightly impish laugh, “speaking of questioning. How far is that store you sent our bargaining chip to?”

“Not far, why?”

“It’s been an hour,” Lavender said, “you’re not at all worried?”

“He’s slow sometimes,” Fetch said, “has a couple compulsion problems that he tends to get distracted by. I bet you if we drive down to that store he’s just caught up straightening cans and annoying staff.”

“Let’s drive then,” Lavender said, getting up, “I told you Mateo is already up to something. You have to be careful.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

“You drive, it’s better if I’m not seen,” Lavender continued, pulling the hood of her sweatshirt over her head.

“That’s telling me what to do!” Fetch said annoyed, but decided to humour her as he got up as well.

They headed out, he made sure to lock the front door before getting into his van, Lavender climbing into the passenger’s seat and looking around.

“Spacious,” she said, “though it smells a bit…”

“You could walk.”

“I’ll crack a window.”

“Attagirl.”

“Shut up.”

Fetch chuckled a bit as he started the engine and drove off, turning into the road and heading towards town. Sticking to the speed limit, they weren’t going very fast, and there weren’t any other cars on the road, so Fetch was fiddling with his radio, trying to tune into his favourite station as the dunes were blocking his signal it seemed. Lavender did keep an eye out, until she suddenly opened the door and hopped out, while they were still driving.

“Rhodes what the fuck!” Fetch yelled, hitting the brakes and pulling over, resisting the urge to hit her as she crossed the road in front of the vehicle.

She ran towards a flock of seagulls, chasing them away.

“Scram!”

“Are you possessed by a dog or something?” Fetch said, getting out as well, “go chase birds in your own time!”

“It’s not the birds you dumbass,” Lavender said, pulling something from the middle of the flock.

A paper bag, dripping with egg yolk, and a torn up bag of bread. She walked back over to Fetch, handing him the items.

“Remember your own shopping list?”

“Fucking piece of shit,” Fetch grumbled, looking inside the bag.

“Welp…looks like we’re gonna have to come up with a new plan,” Lavender said.

Fetch threw the bag on the ground, grabbed Lavender by the front of her shirt and slammed her against the side of the van, taking her by surprise.

“DID YOU KNOW?!” he yelled, shaking her a bit.

“I warned you!” Lavender spat back, trying to push him off, but he was livid.

“YOU LED HIM RIGHT TO US!”

“I would’ve known if I’d been followed—”

“YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING! YOU’RE A CHILD!”

Lavender wrenched her arm free and managed to sock him in the jaw, forcing him to let go of her as he nearly lost his balance.

“Calm the fuck down!” Lavender said, “first, if I were in cahoots with Mateo already you would’ve been dead the moment you entered your stupid cabin!”

Fetch didn’t answer, instead he rubbed his cheek a bit before spitting out some blood.

“Secondly I know for a fact I wasn’t followed by Mateo,” Lavender continued, “but he’s not an idiot. He has friends too.”

“So you wouldn’t know if you’ve been followed or not,” Fetch said, “you still got a lot to learn.”

“I know more than you think,” Lavender said, “I know Mateo has a hiding spot or two around this area. Whoever he’s working with would’ve brought him there to meet up, probably.”

“Where?” Fetch just asked, pushing her aside so he could get back behind the wheel.

“There’s one just on the other side of town,” Lavender said, “it’s closer, so let’s check there first.”

“Get in,” Fetch said, pulling out his cigarettes and lighting another one while Lavender got back into the passenger’s seat.

He reached for his keys to start the van, to which Lavender pulled a hunting knife from her boot and pointed it at him.

“You call me a fucking child again and you can figure this all out on your own, you hear me?” she said.

“Show me some ID,” Fetch said with a shrug, swatting the knife aside and focusing on the road.

Lavender scoffed, putting the knife away. She still needed him, and he knew it.

They drove across the small town, to a pretty run down cabin along a virtually unused road. Fetch pulled up in the driveway and got out, taking a look around, while Lavender approached the front door to try and open it.

“They’re not here,” Fetch said, not moving away from the van.

“We haven’t checked inside yet,” Lavender said, trying to pick the lock.

“It takes a sizeable vehicle to transport a hostage through a populated area without raising any suspicion,” Fetch said, “even a regular car would’ve left tire tracks. I don’t see any.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Lavender said stubbornly, getting the door open to take a look inside, but much to her chagrin it seemed Fetch was right.

It didn’t seem like anyone had been inside for a long while. Everything was covered in a layer of dust, and nothing seemed out of place.

“You’re wasting time!” Fetch called from outside, “where’s the other hideout?”

“Back north,” Lavender called back, finding a pair of sturdy-looking handcuffs and pocketing them before heading back outside.

Fetch had already started the van again, and she had to run a little to hop back in before he drove off without her.

“It’s about an hour’s drive,” she unhelpfully added.

“A fucking hour,” Fetch grumbled, squeezing his steering wheel a bit in anger, “do you have any idea how much damage you can do in an hour?”

“It took me only a couple seconds to convince you I cut off an ear,” Lavender said, trying not to smirk at the memory.

As funny as it was, she was a little worried for Erick too. She knew Mateo couldn’t keep his hands to himself. Chances were they wouldn’t reach them in time to prevent some deep scars.

“Tell me if you spot any cars with tinted windows and two people in the front,” Fetch said, “it could be a covert police vehicle.”

Without waiting for a response or explanation, he began speeding up so they could hopefully get there faster. He managed to cut the hour drive down to about forty minutes, and when they pulled up to the cabin hiding a little deeper in the woods, Lavender noticed some of the signs that had been missing at the other locations. There were tire tracks in the muddy ground, drag marks in the leaves leading from the tracks to the door.

“They were here,” she said.

“Let’s look inside for clues,” Fetch said.

He didn’t bother picking the lock, kicking the door in instead. A familiar pair of worn-out sneakers had been abandoned at the bottom of the stairs. They’d definitely been here.

“You check downstairs,” Fetch said, beginning to head up the stairs.

“You could ask nicely!” Lavender called after him, though she did have a look around, keeping an eye out for anything that might indicate where they had taken the boy, or what they’d done to him.

Fetch was doing the exact same upstairs, finding traces in the dust on the railing, leading him to a room on the left. More dust was disturbed on top of a cabinet, an old mattress had a new blanket on it, and a familiar pair of jeans lay discarded in the corner.

His blood was boiling as he picked them up to take back with him, when his phone pinged with a new message. He recognised the sender. After all, he never deleted the number so he knew when not to pick up. But he wasn’t calling now. He’d only sent a text with a link in it. No explanation whatsoever, but Fetch had a good suspicion of what it could contain.

With a sigh, he clicked the link, which took him to some kind of sketchy file sharing website. There were no previews, just auto-generated numeric file names. He selected the file at the top, nearly dropping his phone as it opened a picture.

It was a picture of Erick, kneeling on that mattress in the room he was standing in, restrained tightly in leather cuffs, connected with short chains. He was gagged with a red ball, connected to a harness that wrapped around his head, as well as a large, leather blindfold covering his eyes. Fetch could tell he looked uncomfortable, but he couldn’t find anything too wrong besides him being in his underwear.

He swiped to the next picture and it was one without a blindfold. Surprisingly, he wasn’t crying, but glaring angrily at whoever was taking the picture. That was also a good sign.

Next picture he was neither gagged nor blindfolded, but now had a leather collar fitted around his neck, a chain pulled taut at the front, forcing him  to lean closer to the camera.

Fetch had seen enough. He closed the website and dialled Mateo’s number.

“Enjoyed the pictures, Fetcher?” he asked upon picking up.

“You got some fucking balls, Keller,” Fetch growled.

“Heh, why don’t you ask your boy~?”

“You son of a— Let me talk to him!” Fetch hissed, keeping his voice down as he moved to close the door.

“No can do, he’s resting after his performance,” Mateo said, “and what’s with the tone, Fetcher? You’re not alone, are you? Is that Lavender you’re hiding from? She’d be so angry if she knew you called me~”

“What do you fucking want from me?” Fetch asked, “I couldn’t go through with the job. It happens sometimes. Get over yourself.”

“It’s nothing personal, Fetcher,” Mateo said, “it’s just that Lavender has gotten too much out of hand, but maybe you can help with that~ However instead of paying you money for a crappy service, I figured I should just go ahead and get some leverage.”

“My services are perfectly fine, you’re just a piece of shit,” Fetch said.

“You can argue all you want, but it just means I get to spend more quality time with your boy. I’ll just turn my phone off for an hour—”

“Oh for crying out loud…fine. What do you want from me?”

“I want you to get rid of Lavender for me,” Mateo said.

“Of fucking course,” Fetch sighed, “and what guarantee do I get that you’ll keep your word?”

“Bring me her body and you’ll see,” Mateo said, “until then I’ll be spending the time I have to wait with your boy, so how long that is is up to you~”

“I want to talk to him,” Fetch demanded again, but Mateo ignored him.

“Tick, tock~” he said, “send me a picture of proof that you’re done and I’ll text you where to meet up.”

Click.

Mateo chuckled to himself after he hung up, opening his contacts and quickly dialling Delaney’s number.

“Hey, it’s me. Pictures did the job, he called almost right away,” he said, “are you en-route?”

“Yeah, I’m almost at the interstate,” Delaney replied, “I might have to make a stop though, he’s managed to kick something and it’s making more noise than I like.”

“You’ll get the hang of it,” Mateo said.

“Does he have any idea that I’m involved?” Delaney asked.

“Not a clue,” Mateo said, “maybe a hunch, but he’ll never find out it’s you specifically. Just keep a low profile, bring the boy to me. I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

“Ciao~” Delaney replied, before hanging up and turning his music up a little louder.

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[villainsview]

Part 2

FULL ART by @scarletfish8eta

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After being effectively kicked out so Fetch and Lavender could discuss a plan involving him as bait, Erick decided to pick his battles and this one wasn’t going to be it. He trusted that Fetch would keep his best interest in mind, and he wouldn’t just leave him at the mercy of a man like that Mateo guy. No, he trusted his…somewhat unconventional guardian as much as he trusted him with his money.

It had taken a lot to earn that kind of trust. He had to prove his loyalty time and time again before Fetch finally trusted Erick to go out on his own, and he still felt he only managed to get this far since the one time they had no choice. One of Fetch’s targets had gotten so badly injured, Fetch couldn’t leave their side long enough to go out and buy some supplies from the corner drugstore, so he tossed his wallet at Erick and told him to go.

Erick had made sure to prove his worth by grabbing all the kinds of items Fetch had mentioned, without taking too long. The target survived, Fetch was handsomely rewarded and in turn, Erick was also rewarded with a little bit more freedom. First in the shape of store runs, or even to pick up takeout, and eventually he was allowed to go out on walks, so long as he picked his moments and didn’t mess up Fetch’s schedule one way or another.

Milk, eggs, cheese, bread and fruit…

Erick repeated the list in his thoughts as he walked towards the little town they had driven through on their way to the cabin. It was a lovely quiet town with only some locals just going about their business, not caring about the blond teen as he entered the general store.

Erick picked up a basket, finding the bread first. He knew which type Fetch preferred, double-checking the ingredients to make sure it had enough fibre, before adding it to the basket. Next were the eggs. A box of six should be enough for now. He carefully checked each egg for cracks before adding them to his basket. There wasn’t a lot of choice among the cheese, so he settled for the cheapest one, before grabbing two cartons of milk.

Fetch had said one would be enough, but he tended to miscalculate how much he would use and then run out. And with Lavender as a distraction, he probably wouldn’t even realise the discrepancy. Lastly was the fruit. It all looked pretty fresh…so he could probably grab whatever? 

“Excuse me.”

Erick snapped out of his thoughts as a man reached past him to pick up some apples.

“Sorry,” Erick said, stepping aside so he could reach easier.

“You looked like you were miles away,” the man said.

“Mhm, just trying to decide which fruit to bring back,” Erick said, stepping a little further away from the man to look at the oranges.

Fetch liked oranges. He never said it out loud, but it was the fruit he saw him eating the most. They looked fresh, and according to the promotional sign they were the sweetest oranges in the world. He added a couple to his basket, before getting in line at the one register, just behind the apple man.

He carried only one apple, which seemed a bit odd, but who was he to judge? The girl behind the register seemed to judge just a tiny bit.

“Will that be all, sir?” she asked, raising a brow as she rang up the single apple.

“It’s just a snack for the road,” the man said, getting his wallet out, “a dollar should cover it, right?”

“Yeah, and your change?”

“Keep it,” the man said, placing the bill down and picking up his apple, “have a good one.”

“You too, sir,” the girl said, changing her expression to a smile as Erick stepped up next.

“Hey. You want me to bag that for you?”

“Paper bag, please,” Erick replied, waiting for her to slowly ring up his total while she packed his items in a paper bag.

He managed to stay well under budget, though he knew Fetch hadn’t even counted the money he gave him. Still, he would probably be pleased to get the majority of it back. He paid, received his change and the receipt, took his bag and headed out the store.

He started walking back to the cabin, considering taking it easy and taking in some sights as he reached the edge of the town. He had no idea how much time Fetch and Lavender would need alone and what they were getting up to.

His mind went someplace, but he quickly shook the thought away. Fetch disliked her far too much for that, and Lavender wouldn’t be a fan either…probably. Either way, he had other things to focus on and worry about as a white sedan slowly pulled up beside him.

“Hey kid!”

That’s weird. It was the man with the one apple. Erick was immediately suspicious. Fetch had taught him a couple methods so he knew what to look out for ever since he gained the freedom to go off on his own every once in a while.

Most people were just open for a friendly chat, and limited engagement was okay to avoid suspicion. But if they approached you twice, they wanted something from you.

“I don’t talk to strangers,” Erick said, making sure to keep his distance from the vehicle, in case there was a second person hiding behind the tinted windows of the backseat.

“I’m not a stranger, we just met!” the man said, “Also I know Fetcher. You want a ride back?”

“No,” Erick said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Come on,” the man said, “he hasn’t told you about me? He sure told me a lot about you. Erick, right?”

“You’re terrible at this,” Erick said, taking another step away from the car, “most people who know Fetch don’t like him.”

The man’s smile faltered. There wasn’t anyone else on the road, so Erick knew he would have to run. He took one step to continue, and the man drove his car into his path, blocking his route before getting out.

Erick dropped his bag of groceries. He had to run around the car now, with the risk that the man would intercept him, but it was the only route he could take. He tried to run widely around the man, but he was pretty fast as well. He managed to grab the boy by his arm. He tried to pull free but nearly lost his balance as the man yanked him back.

Time for plan B.

“HELP!”

“Fuck— Shut up!” the man hissed, clamping a hand over the boy’s mouth.

Erick’s struggle increased, trying to kick at the man behind him while yanking on his arm with both hands to get his hand off.

“Ow! You little fucker—”

The man nearly lost his grip, needing his free hand to pull something from his pocket while Erick had begun to try and jab his elbow behind him. If he could just get him to let go he could run back to the cabin for help.

However, just when he thought he was making good progress, he suddenly felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his side, spreading quickly through his entire body. He choked out a muffled cry, feeling his knees give in. Before he knew it, he smacked against the asphalt, coughing as he struggled to take in air. His vision was blurry and the world was spinning. He tried to get to his feet, but his arms and legs wouldn’t listen to him.

“Should’ve just taken the ride, kid,” the man said, beginning to drag the boy towards the car.

There was nothing Erick could do for a good while. If the man were less clumsy he would’ve already gotten him in the car and driven away, but he struggled a bit to get the boy in the backseat of his car. About halfway in, Erick began moving again.

He was too weak to push the man off of him, and noticing the boy begin to move, the man pinned his arms down, but he was still hovering over him. Erick wasn’t planning on giving up just yet and flung his head forward, hitting the man square in the jaw with his forehead.

“ACK! You little—”

The man wasted no further energy and reached for his taser again, hitting the boy in the chest with a short burst to numb him again. He waved the device in his field of vision.

“If you keep that up you’ll get more!” he warned, before making use of the stunned state of the teen to walk around the car and pull him further in from the other side.

He closed one door, so they wouldn’t be visible from the road at least. Erick groaned in pain, his side and chest feeling beyond bruised in the places where he got tased, while his whole body felt sore. His sluggish state allowed the man to grab some supplies from the passenger’s seat, wrenching the boy’s hands behind him.

Something surprisingly soft wrapped around his wrist, before it was pulled tighter, his other wrist quickly following after. The man fumbled a bit more with the ligature, the clinking of a chain sounding before his wrists were forced closer together.

“Ah!” Erick gasped, finding his voice back, “wh-what do you want?”

“A little cooperation would be nice,” the man said, grabbing for more restraints.

“Fuck you!”

He tried kicking at him, but his legs felt heavy and they were easily pinned down as well. More of the soft ligature was wrapped and tightened around his ankles, before they were forced closer together as well. The man pushed him to sit up on his knees, grabbing his shirt and pinning him against the back of the seat.

“Settle down!” he said.

“Hell no!” Erick spat back.

“Feisty, aren’t you?” the man said, “damn…he said this would be easy.”

“Who said?” Erick asked, but the man didn’t tell.

Instead he grabbed a chain, pulling it around the headrest of the seat, as well as the boy’s throat before pulling it tight. Erick’s breath caught in his throat, literally, as the chain pressed on his windpipe, before the man thankfully loosened the chain a couple notches, before securing it in place with what looked like a padlock.

“Best not squirm around too much,” he said, “we don’t want you slipping off your seat and suffocating yourself.”

Lastly he attached the bindings around his ankles to those around his wrists so he couldn’t use his legs to catch himself, effectively trapping him.

“You’ll pay for this!” he hissed, pressing back against the seat a bit to relieve the strain on his throat.

“No, no,” the man said, “I’m getting paid for this. But don’t you worry your pretty little head over that.”

“Let me go,” Erick said.

The man didn’t seem in a hurry, so perhaps he could stall him long enough to get him in trouble.

“That’s not up to me,” the man said, “not that I would even if it were.”

“So you’re not even in charge of whatever this is?” Erick said, “no wonder you’re so bad at— Ack!”

He was cut off as the man yanked on his shirt, the chain tightening just enough to make it too difficult to talk.

“Silence,” the man hissed, “you’re lucky I forgot to bring a gag or you’d be choking on that too.”

“Ghn…f-fuck…you!”

The man sighed and let go of him, grabbing the final item that he did remember to bring; A leather blindfold, which fit tightly but surprisingly comfortable. He tried to shake it off, but that also only worsened the strain on his throat, so he stopped, catching his breath.

He felt a pat on his cheek before the car wobbled slightly as the man got out. The door slammed closed, and he could hear him get behind the wheel, before driving off.

It didn’t seem like he made a turn, so they would come up on the cabin if he continued to follow the road. He had to guess the distance a bit, but they should be coming close…

“FETCH! HE—”

Startled by the boy’s sudden yelling, the man slammed the brakes, causing Erick to jolt forward and choke on the chain again, cutting off his yelling.

“Don’t do that!” the man snapped, quickly continuing as he was indeed quite close to the beach-side cabin.

Erick tried only a couple more times whenever he thought he could hear people nearby, but stopped after the man threatened him with the taser again. It was frustrating. Even if the windows were tinted, the man still left him in a very visible position. If he could just attract anyone’s attention…but he wasn’t given the chance.

And before he knew it, the sounds of other traffic got less and less and less and less…until finally the engine cut and there was complete silence, broken only by Erick’s coughing, and the man fumbling with his car keys before getting out.

Erick’s legs were freed, though the cuffs stayed on, and the chain was taken off of his throat too. He was dragged out of the car, blindly led to…wherever. They stopped to open a door, before entering whatever building they were at.

Erick tried to rely on his other senses. It smelled like the woods, and he could hear leaves rustling in the wind. Twigs and leaves crunched under their feet, before their steps were muted by a kind of carpet. The building smelled musty, as if it hadn’t been too well maintained. The door they had stepped through closed with a click, followed by a second click as it was locked.

“Get down you!” the man hissed, pushing the boy against the floor.

He couldn’t catch himself and face planted on the carpet, feeling the grime and inhaling some dust. Why were these hideout places always so disgusting?

“Hey, it’s me,” the man’s voice sounded a little further away as he’d entered another room, “yeah I got him. It wasn’t as easy as you said it would be, damn it…”

“If you managed, Delaney then it probably was as easy. You just need a little more practice.”

Of course it was Mateo on the other side of the line, though Erick couldn’t hear that part. He did his best to try and figure out the context from the man— Delaney’s words alone.

“I’ll have to restrain him better before I take the pictures. What I’d done in a hurry looked horrible, I can do much better than that,”

“Whatever,” Mateo said, “just don’t dawdle at that place too long. If she’s teamed up with him again they’ll be on to you soon enough.”

“Ugh, what does she see in him?” Delaney sighed, “he’s ugly and like twice her age.”

“Focus, my friend,” Mateo said, “take the pictures, send me a copy, get the hell out of there and bring him to me. And remember to save him for me. Best you can do is warm him up a little.”

“So much for that extended private session,” Delaney grumbled a bit, “he’s got more fight in him than you said he would have. Are you sure you don’t want me to tame him a little bit?”

“Emphasis on little bit,” Mateo said, “try to keep the fight alive. I’ll enjoy breaking him…”

“You’re killing me, Mateo,” Delaney said with a sigh, before hanging up.

He turned back to Erick, who had managed to sit upright, using the wall for support, and was trying to make his way back to the door, but was easily pulled back.

“Where do you think you’re going, hm~?”

“Don’t touch me!” Erick snapped, pulling out of his grip, but that only caused him to fall on the floor again.

Delaney laughed.

“You don’t get a say in the matter,” he said, “though don’t be surprised when you’ll be begging for more by the time I’m done with you…”

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[villainsview]

Part 1

FULL ART by @scarletfish8eta

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It had been a rough year. Fetch had been working hard in an attempt to earn back what he’d lost in his disaster of a job for Allard. He’d already earned back a fair bit, though, but he still had a long way to go. And after so many jobs, it was time to lay low for a while again, which meant it was time to take a nice little break.

“You’re going to like it,” he said, addressing the blond teen in the passenger’s seat, “it’s got a view of the ocean, the people like to keep to themselves…”

“So…you live near the beach, and your ideal vacation spot is…a cabin on the beach?” Erick asked.

“I like the beach,” Fetch replied, “but I also like peace and quiet and that’s hard to get in San Diego this time of year. Here however…no tourists. Only locals.”

“Could I…maybe go out a bit more?” Erick asked.

“Yeah why not,” Fetch said, “oh look, we’re here.”

They parked on the driveway of a small cabin. It was even with the road, but the back half was supported by sturdy beams with a wooden staircase leading down to the beach. It was quite a view indeed. However, before they got much of a chance to enjoy it, Fetch already noticed something amiss. While he was waiting for Erick to get the bags from the van, he noticed the front door had been left slightly ajar.

“Wait here,” he said.

“Why—”

“Because I say so! Fucking hell…” Fetch grumbled, giving the teen an annoyed push, before carefully approaching the cabin.

He pulled out his gun, just in case, and approached the front door, pushing it open slowly. The first thing he noticed was the smell of coffee, followed by other sounds coming from the kitchen. Refusing to get thrown off by confusion, he continued on, gun ready as he headed towards the kitchen.

The door had been taken out years ago, leaving only the frame to provide a more open space. He peered into the kitchen, lowering his gun when he saw a familiar woman. She was standing at the counter, cutting something crunchy-sounding with a bit of an oversized knife for the job. He could see her smirking at him through the reflection in the window.

“About time you showed up, Fetcher.”

“Jesus Christ, Rhodes. I could’ve shot you,” Fetch said, putting his gun away again.

“Eh, it takes more than that to kill me,” she replied, turning around and taking a bite from the grilled cheese she just cut, “made ya some coffee.”

“Don’t play innocent,” Fetch said with a sigh, “what are you doing here? How did you get inside? How’d you even know I’d be here?!”

“Your neighbour caught me snooping around your apartment,” Lavender said, “told her I’m a friend trying to surprise you and she straight up told me your vacation address.”

“Damn it, Ethel,” Fetch sighed, “and why were you snooping around my apartment?”

“Looking for you, duh.”

“Get to the point woman!”

“Alright, alright.” Lavender said, rolling her eyes, before being distracted by something behind Fetch, “Hey Erick~”

“I told you to wait by the van,” Fetch sighed, not even turning to acknowledge the teen.

“I saw Lavender through the window so I came to check if she’d killed you,” Erick said, putting down the bags he’d carried inside.

“If anything I would’ve killed her,” Fetch said.

“Yeah right,” Lavender scoffed, “you want something to eat, Erick? I made your favourite~”

“Don’t talk to him,” Fetch said, “what do you want?”

“I want you to chill,” Lavender said, “come sit down, have some coffee and I’ll tell you what I’ll need.”

“Why should I trust you?” Fetch said.

“Worked out for you last time, didn’t it?” Lavender said, “or did you not find the money I left for you?”

“She has a point,” Erick quietly chimed in.

“He gets it!” Lavender said.

Fetch looked about ready to kill them both, but he forced himself to calm down, pulling out his cigarettes and lighting one. Lavender smirked victoriously, knowing he would hear her out at least, so she poured him a cup of the coffee she made, and offered Erick the other half of her grilled cheese. They sat around the kitchen table, though rather than accepting the coffee, Fetch passed it on to Erick.

“Not thirsty?” Lavender asked.

“Caffeine dehydrates,” Fetch said, “also I just want to make sure you didn’t poison it.”

“So you give it to the kid you gave up a job for to taste-test?” Lavender asked.

“I gave up that job because I didn’t agree with the client’s end goal.”

“Good,” Lavender said, “then you’re gonna like what I have to say next.”

Meanwhile Erick warily sipped the coffee, shrugging at Fetch as he found nothing wrong with it.

“No poison?”

“I’m not dying, am I?” Erick said.

“Watch the attitude,” Fetch said, snatching the coffee back from him before turning back to Lavender, “so what did you have to say that I was going to like?”

“I want to kill Mateo,” Lavender said.

“Have fun,” Fetch simply replied.

“I’ll need your help,” Lavender begrudgingly admitted.

“I’m on vacation.”

“I’ll pay!”

“You can’t afford me!”

“You said you don’t agree with his hobbies,” Lavender said, “if we kill Mateo, he can’t hurt anyone anymore. But more importantly, he’ll stop bothering me!”

“You wanna kill a guy because he’s bothering you?” Fetch asked, raising a brow.

“He wants me to work for him again, but I can’t stand him anymore. He needs to be in control all the time and he drives me crazy!”

“Think logically,” Fetch said, surprisingly calmly, “say we do kill him…how many and what kind of people would we be pissing off?”

“His clients are all smallfry,” Lavender said, “they’ll be bummed, but they’ll probably return to gross internet sites to get their rocks off.”

“And you’re absolutely sure about this?” Fetch checked.

“Would I lie to you~?”

“Yes,” Fetch said, “but never mind. Fine. I’ll help…after my vacation, so get lost.”

“We might not have that much time,” Lavender said, “the reason he wants to work with me so bad is because he’s pissed at you for backing out of your deal.”

“So what? He doesn’t scare me,” Fetch said.

“We can use his anger against him though,” Lavender said, “that, and the fact that he hasn’t had a plaything in a while.”

Her eyes trailed to Erick, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“Absolutely not, out of the question,” Fetch said.

“He’ll just be bait, he won’t get hurt,” Lavender said.

“D-do I get a say—”

“No!” Fetch and Lavender said in chorus.

Erick bit his lip, shrinking in his seat a bit, but he didn’t go quiet just yet.

“I was gonna say I’d do it,” he said.

“Aha! So that’s two against one,” Lavender said.

“We just agreed he doesn’t even get a say,” Fetch said.

“You really think we’ll ever agree on anything, Fetcher~?” Lavender said, “besides, since he’s on my side he gets a say.”

“God damn it you’re insufferable,” Fetch grumbled, extinguishing his cigarette on the table and flicking the butt at Erick.

He flinched slightly, before moving to pick it up to discard it.

“He won’t get hurt,” Lavender said, “surely you’re a good enough shot that you can kill him before he touches your precious little…assistant?”

“I’ll make a decision if we can come up with a…better plan than set up bait and hope for the best,” Fetch said.

“If you’re gonna tie me up, can you go easy on my elbows for a change?” Erick said, earning a snicker from Lavender.

“Oh for fuck’s— Why don’t you go to the store we drove past and get the things we discussed?” Fetch said, getting up to pull his wallet out of his pocket and pushing a small stack of bills into the teen’s hands.

“Milk, eggs, bread, cheese and whichever fruit looks freshest,” Erick recited, looking over the money and pocketing it.

“Exactly, now get lost, the grownups need to talk,” Fetch said, beginning to push him out of the kitchen.

“Alright, alright, I’m going…”

“Attitude!” Fetch warned, before slamming the front door closed.

“He’s got a lil more fight in him than I remember,” Lavender said with an amused grin.

“Don’t even get me started,” Fetch said with an exhausted sigh, “he still listens but he’s constantly talking back.”

“Good.” Lavender said, much to Fetch’s chagrin, “He’ll need it.”

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