Release

[Ludub]

26 minutes ago, Suzza101 said:

Where was Kyle. I was reading and I was so sad that Kyle wasn't mentioned    

Thanks Suzza. Sorry Kyle wasn't part of Brax's hallucinations. I suppose the point was that he blamed himself for the other two, whereas Kyle's predicament wasn't really his fault. That said, just because I didn't show you Brax hallucinating Kyle in this scene, it doesn't mean that he didn't. He was in that container a very LONG time. Who knows what happened in his mind during that time?

[Ludub]

Thanks for all the kind comments folks. Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it!

 

WARNING: ADULT THEMES!

 

Chapter 9

 

Kyle walked back through the door and slammed it shut just a little too forcefully. He was obviously tired and angry, and it wasn’t unusual for him to take his frustration out on inanimate objects. They had a number of patch-jobs in the plaster work that he wasn’t particularly proud of but sometimes he just couldn’t help himself. He saw Ben wince at the loud noise, and then roll his eyes, when he heard Dax start crying on the baby monitor. “Sorry” he sighed, as he leaned his back against the door.

“Do you think he listened to you?” asked Ben, nodding to the door to indicate that he meant Heath. “I mean… is there even the slightest chance that he’ll wait to go over there in the morning?”

Kyle just shrugged. He didn’t really know what Heath was going to do, and right now, he wasn’t entirely sure that he cared. The initial adrenalin burst had worn off and now he was filled with all sorts of doubts. He didn’t know what he believed and what he didn’t. When they’d shown the file to Heath, and started going through all the documents again, he’d ended up taking the part that Ben had played before, and begun questioning everything. What on earth would Brax be doing in China? How would he have gotten there in the first place? And why did the note sound so strange? Surely, a man who was born and raised in Australia, a native English speaker, wouldn’t have written a note that was that inarticulate? Why did he sound like English was his second language? But if it wasn’t Brax, why would someone go to so much effort to try to fake a cry for help? What could they possibly get out of it? …Unless…

“You don’t think he’s headed over to Ricky’s right now?” asked Ben, grimacing a little as he glanced at the baby monitor. It wasn’t just Dax now. Gracie had woken too and was wailing the house down. He knew that he’d have to go to them in a moment to check on them.

“He said he wouldn’t” said Kyle, “Promised me… Said he’d just take Josh home and then he’d come get me in the morning.”

“And you believe him?” frowned Ben. He’d seen the look in Heath’s eyes before he’d left the apartment. He could only imagine what he had planned for Cameron and he was glad that he wasn’t in the older man’s shoes.

“Yeah… Well, that’s what he said” grunted Kyle. With that, he pushed himself away from the door and headed towards the kids’ bedroom. “Can you just leave it now?” he muttered, as he walked past.

Ben nodded, knowing not to press him any further on it. He did have his suspicions though. Kyle had insisted on walking Heath and Josh down to the carpark, much to his annoyance, and he could only guess at the conversation that they’d had once out of earshot. Old habits die hard after all, and he wouldn’t have put it past him to have a quiet word in Heath’s ear ‘Godfather’-style, and send him over to ‘take care’ of Cameron. Not that he thought he was married to a monster or anything like that, but he did know that the Braxtons had often had their own way of doing things. As more time had gone on, he’d gotten to know the Braxton family history a little more. He did love Kyle. Very very deeply. But he couldn’t help questioning himself each time that he found out some new little detail. He wondered whether he would have gotten himself involved with Kyle in the first place, if he’d known then what he knew now.

“Can you warm up Gracie’s bottle?” called Kyle, reappearing with their little girl in his arms. He’d managed to soothe Dax, but Gracie was red faced and chewing on her fist in the way that small babies do when they’re teething.

“Yeah… sure” he replied, going to the kitchen and taking a bottle out of the fridge. He put it in the bottle warmer and turned to lean his back against the counter. He watched as Kyle put some teething gel on her gums to try to soothe her. “You pissed at me?” he asked, when he noticed the frown on his face.

“No” he answered moodily, “Why would you think I was pissed at you?”

“Because you have a face like thunder” said Ben, “…and because I wouldn’t let you go racing over there like an idiot.”

Kyle gave a little snort and shook his head. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was actually grateful that Ben had stopped him. He’d calmed down now and he could see that going over there would have ended disastrously. The thought of going back to prison frightened him more than he liked to admit. In fact, it terrified him. He was still having nightmares about the shower room, and sometimes when he’d close his eyes at night, he’d see those men crowding around him and feel their rough hands groping at him and pulling at his clothing. Feel them forcing themselves on him. Feel ‘it’ as though it was happening all over again. The fact that he never found out which ones had actually done it, was something that always played on his mind all the time. The scene would play out, again and again, with the faces of his attackers chopping and changing. It made him feel like he’d been raped by more than just two of them. As though they’d all done it.

“I’m sorry” said Ben, “But I just couldn’t let you…”

“I make my own decisions” snapped Kyle, “If I’d really wanted to go, you wouldn’t have been able to stop me!”

Ben gave a little smirk and shook his head. He certainly would have tried. He had a good 15kg on him and he wouldn’t have been above wrestling him to the ground if he’d had to. He’d done it before. Just then the bottle warmer beeped and he turned to take the bottle out.

Kyle walked over and took the bottle from his hand after he’d tested it on his arm. “I just keep thinking…” he said, as he started to feed Gracie, “…What if it’s something… something to do with…” He paused for a moment, obviously having trouble even saying the words.

“Something to do with what?” asked Ben. He was concerned. Kyle looked like he’d seen a ghost!

“What if?” Kyle began again with a frown, “What if it’s some of Ducky’s guys? …I mean… what if it’s Kwon messing with us?”

“Weren’t they Korean?” asked Ben. He was surprised that he’d brought the subject up. Kyle was decidedly tight-lipped when it came to talking about the assault but he’d sat in on some of his counselling sessions so he did know some of what had gone on. It just wasn’t something that Kyle found it easy to talk about.

“Yeah… they were” said Kyle, “…but they had Russian connections… Maybe they have Chinese ones too? It’s… It’s the only thing I can think of…”

“You think they’d do that?” asked Ben. He couldn’t help looking worried.

“Yeah… I mean, me and Josh…” he said, “We… we… I mean, we testified against them… and… and got them sentenced.” His voice was shaking a little as he spoke. “I don’t think Kwon’ll get over the 13 years we got added to his sentence… and some of the others guys too…”

“Yeah, but…” Ben started to say.

“Kwon said he’d get his own back” said Kyle, “He said he’d come after us… I just thought it’d be…”

“What? A bullet to the head?” asked Ben, lowering his voice so as not to upset Gracie. It was said in a jokey tone, but the worry in his eyes was very real. They’d talked about whether they might be at risk, but as time had gone on, the threats had seemed more and more empty. Surely, ten years was a long time to wait for revenge? And why would they seek it in such a strange and unusual way?

“Yeah” he replied, “I guess that is what I expected… I figured Kwon would just hire someone.” He was shaking now. Memories of red-faced angry men being dragged out of the courtroom flooded through his mind. Kwon had had to be trailed across the floor, shouting threats, and practically frothing at the mouth. “I’ll get you for this!”  he’d screamed, snarling and trying to get at him, “I’m gonna kill you, you ****ing dog! You think you’ll be safe?! You think you can hide away in some new prison and you’ll be safe?! I have my contacts! I’ll ****ing get you for this! …I’m ****ing coming for you sweetheart! I’m coming for you… I’m gonna make you hurt!” What he didn’t say to Ben was that he’d expected to be kidnapped some day and maybe tortured to death. It was a fear that he carried at the back of his head every day. “But maybe he’s come up with something else?” he said, “Another way to mess with us? …Maybe it’s a trap?”

“You think he went to the trouble of putting a note in a sex toy?” asked Ben, “To what… to get you to come to China on a wild goose chase or something? …I mean… it seems a bit far-fetched, doesn’t it? …And… and why now, after all this time?”

“Maybe he’s out?” said Kyle, with panic starting to overtake him, “Maybe they let him out and this is just his way of getting back at us?”

Ben tilted his head at him in sympathy and reached for Gracie. She was fussing and refusing her bottle, as she reacted to Kyle’s body language. “Hey, come here, Princess” he said, as he took her from Kyle’s arms, “Come to daddy.”

“I dunno” sighed Kyle, as he threw himself down on the couch, “It’s just… It’s whirring round and round in my head.” He glanced down at the file on the coffee table again and frowned at the photo of Brax. It was like he was silently judging him. Asking him why he was looking for reasons not to believe. ‘Don’t you want me to come back?!’ he seemed to ask him, ‘Don’t you want me to be alive?!’ He held his hands in front of him and tried to steady them. This whole thing had his nerves shot to pieces. “I can’t get my head around this” he moaned, “I don’t know what’s real and what isn’t…”

“Well then” said Ben, “Maybe you need to give Agent Lee a call and see what’s happening with Kwon and his gang.”

“Maybe” said Kyle, reaching for his phone. He hadn’t spoken to Lee for about 5 years. He wasn’t even sure if the number he had for him would still work.  He was just about to press call when Ben stopped him.

“It’s after midnight” said Ben, “I think it can wait till tomorrow, don’t you?”

Kyle gave a sigh and shook his head. “Yeah, I guess” he said. He sounded tired.

“Let’s be sensible about this” said Ben, as he settled on the couch beside him and rested his chin on his shoulder, “We’ll go to Ric’s tomorrow and see what Cameron has to say for himself… Maybe there’s a simple explanation?”

 

*****

 

Ricky frowned and lifted her head off the sofa cushion to look up at Cameron. She was lying stretched out on the couch with her feet in his lap. She’d been hoping that he’d take the hint and give her a foot massage, but so far he’d just left them sitting there. She’d even tried wiggling them a little bit but he wasn’t taking the bait. He just kept staring at his tablet. ‘Working’ he’d said, but he seemed more stressed than normal. From what she could see, he was looking at photos of a derelict warehouse or factory, and what looked like empty shipping containers. She didn’t really ask him about his work anymore because it just depressed her. So many families with missing mums, dads, brothers, sisters, children… People just disappeared. Often, they were never found. She’d basically given up all hope of finding Brax. She didn’t even ask him about him anymore. It was time to move on.

“You okay?” she asked, when she saw him pick up his phone for the millionth time and hiss something under his breath, “You waiting for someone to call you?” She was a little worried. He was clearly in a bad mood.

“Just thought Josh would have called me back” he said, setting it back down on the arm of the couch, “Just ran out of here… won’t even answer my calls.”

“I’m sure he didn’t mean to upset you” she said, “I mean… I don’t think he meant anything by it… He was probably just embarrassed.” She was surprised at how much it seemed to have hurt his feelings. He was obviously a much more sensitive soul than she’d have thought, and she felt bad now for asking him to help him out in the first place.

“Yeah” he said, glancing over at her with an uneasy sort of smile, “I’m sure.” He didn’t sound very convinced.

“No, really!” she said, grimacing a little, “Actually… I think it might have been my fault… I mean… I guess… I made him talk to me about some stuff… some stuff he maybe wasn’t ready to talk about… I guess… I think maybe I just embarrassed him.” She was kicking herself for being so insensitive.

“It’s cool” said Cameron. He forced as convincing a smile as he could manage, and then said, “I get it… He just needed to get away… get some air.” He glanced again at his phone but there was still no reply from Josh. ‘Should I try Kyle or Heath?’ he wondered to himself, ‘Would the stupid little **** have gone straight to them? Why couldn’t he have just talked to me about it? Asked me?!’

“No… I think I just pushed him too far…” continued Ricky, “I guess I should have known he’d react like that… I mean, he’s so private about everything… especially stuff like that… I should have known that he’d get all… all shy about it.”

“About what?” he asked, pretending to be interested. His mind was still whirring though. He just couldn’t make himself listen. Not really. ‘Why won’t he call me back?!’ he asked himself again, ‘Surely, he owes it to me to hear me out?!’

Ricky grimaced a little, weighing up whether she should tell him or not. Was it right to tell Cameron about Josh’s intimacy issues, she wondered. Would he see it as a betrayal? Or would it help to have another man to talk to? One who cared about him and would treat the issue with sensitivity? After all, Cameron had sort of taken on an older mentor or ‘father’ role to Josh over the last while. Maybe he was exactly the person that she should be talking to about this? Maybe he could have a talk to him, man to man? Maybe it would actually help?

“Debbie broke up with him” she blurted, even though somewhere in the back of her head she knew that she shouldn’t be doing this, “They were having some problems… in the bedroom.”

“In the bedroom?!” he exclaimed. That had got his attention. “What kind of problems?” he asked.

“Problems” she repeated, stressing the word in a suggestive way, “I mean, Debs… She told me they’d never actually done it… Like, at all!”

He raised his eyebrows at that. “Never?!” he asked.

She shook her head. “She said he just… just freaks out when they get close to… to doing it… and… and just takes off…” She flushed a little red with embarrassment herself. Or was it guilt? She knew that she shouldn’t be telling Cameron this, but now that she’d started she couldn’t stop. “She thinks it’s because of what happened to him” she said, “You know… When he was ‘inside’?”

“Christ! Poor kid” said Cameron. He nodded in a sad sort of way, but his mind was racing now. Of course, he’d had an inkling that there might be something like that going on, but he’d never really given it too much thought. It wasn’t really something that you just brought up in conversation and up until now it hadn’t really been any of his business. But maybe he could use it to his advantage? He knew that Josh wouldn’t want the boys to know. Maybe he could use it to blackmail him if he needed to? To stop him from telling them if he hadn’t already. He picked up his phone again and wondered whether to try calling again.

“I just feel bad…” said Ricky, “If I made him feel worse about things… I mean… That’s the last thing I’d want! …I was just trying to help.”

“Hey, he knows that… it’s not your fault” he said, trying to reassure her and get her to be quiet so he could figure out his next move, “I don’t think it was about that… I think he just panicked… The whole idea of doing the job interview and stuff. You know how nervous he was about it.”

“Yeah” she frowned, “I guess…” She knew that what he said was true. Josh did seem incredibly nervous about the interview and could have simply been freaking out about that. Maybe it wasn’t about the sex issues? Maybe it was just self-doubt and anxiety? “I mean” she said, “I guess that could be it?”

“Okay, c’mon?” he sighed, “Give it here.” He took hold of one of her feet in both hands and began massaging with his thumbs in firm circular movements. He knew this was the best way to make her be quiet. “Lean back” he said, “Close your eyes.”

“Oh god! That’s soooo nice” she murmured as she leaned back against the pillow. She loved his foot rubs. They always relaxed her. “Thanks baby” she moaned.

He smiled as he watched her settle down for her foot massage but he glanced again nervously at the phone beside him. He couldn’t figure out what to do. ‘Should I try calling him again?’ he asked himself, ‘Or go out and see if I can find him?’

Suddenly there was the noise of a car outside and they saw bright headlights shine in through the window. Someone had just driven into their driveway.

“Who’s that?!” exclaimed Ricky, as she pulled her foot away from him and sat up, “It’s pretty late, isn’t it?!”

“Uh… yeah” he said, as he got to his feet and peered discreetly through the blinds. He could see Josh’s car. “I think it’s Josh…” he said, with a noticeable tone of relief, “I’ll go let him in.” He headed towards the door out in the hallway. ‘Thank God!’ he thought to himself, ‘At least he’s come back.’ He heard a knock at the door and took a moment to take a deep breath before he opened up. This was going to take some explaining!

As he opened the door, he was shocked to see Heath instead of Josh, but he didn’t even have time to react. A fist met his face with enormous force, making a sickening sort of crunch, as his nose broke. He staggered backwards, and within seconds, he found himself on the floor with an angry bearded man on top of him. “What the ****?! Heath?!” he grunted as he tried desperately to shield himself.

“**** you!” shouted Heath, as he drove his fist repeatedly into the other man’s face, “How the **** can you do this to us?! How can you do this to Ric?! You sick ****!”

[Suzza101]

Great chapter. The Kyle and Ben part was great, I just love them together, I have said it before but I really do hope that Ben sticks around and doesn't leave Kyle. By the sounds of it, he is still majorly suffering and I would hate for him to have to go through that alone. He needs Ben in his life. I love how Ben is always right but Kyle refuses to admit it, it is both funny and completely believable.  I hope that Kyle didn't actually send Heath over and he is telling the truth to Ben because if he lied Ben might leave him. That would not be good. Kyle would lose his family and then maybe go off and do something even more stupid. Oh, dear Heath!! That does not sound good looks like he is going to give Cameron a beating! Wonder what Cameron has to say. Can't wait to read more please update soon. 

[pembie]

Cameron's quite the sly fox isn't he? Planning to use Josh's bad performances in the bedroom for blackmail purposes That will teach Josh to put such a downer on things  Got to feel abit sorry for Ben here too Not really getting his dream pricket white fence life here is he?  Got to hand it to Brax he doesn't do things by half measures he makes his presence known when his not even there

Heath went all in for Cameron there one might compare him to oh I don't know a raging roaring chewbacca maybe.

[Guest]

Great chapter

Liked Ben talking Kyle out of going to Cameron's and giving him a piece of his mind.

Heath rocking up drunk no less and starting to hit Cameron I can imagine Heath actually doing that too.

Like everyone else has said I hope Kyle didn't send Heath over there.

Update again soon

 

[Red Ranger 1]

Ooh, Heath going after Cameron is not a smart idea.Cameron does seem less than whiter than white but it remains to be seen just how bad he is...

[Inactive User]

Great chapter

Whoa at the ending! Not a good move for Heath to go after Cameron. 

And glad Ben talked Kyle out of going after Cameron

Update soon please xx

[bijou]

Little late in catching up you'll have to forgive me for that but I am a fan like always you're great at getting my attention and keeping it that's a hard thing to do 

[Ludub]

Sorry for the massively long delay between chapters (again). Just very busy this weather. Hope you all like this one!

WARNING: ADULT THEMES!

 

Chapter 10

 

Heath sat with a bag of frozen peas pressed to the back of his head, half slumped across the kitchen table. His hand began to slip away, as he started to nod off a little, and Ricky moved towards him to make him hold it in place again. She pulled his hand back into place and held it there.

“Keep it on!” she warned him, as she gave his shoulder a shake. 

Her anger had subsided at this stage, and quickly been replaced with concern. He’d been out cold for a couple of minutes and for a moment there she’d thought that she’d killed him. Hitting him over the head with that flower vase hadn’t been the wisest move! Now she was just trying to stop him from losing consciousness again.

She glanced at Cameron and shook her head at him in disapproval. He was leaning against the kitchen counter with a bloody tea towel held to his face. He had a broken nose and he was obviously going to have a black eye within an hour or two. She wanted to know what he’d done to make Heath attack him like that, but all he would say was that it was a ‘misunderstanding’ and that Heath had got the wrong end of the stick about something. He wouldn’t say what that ‘something’ was, and it was making her angry. Heath was still too out of it to answer, slipping in and out of consciousness as he was, and talking nonsense when she asked him anything. She wasn’t entirely convinced that he shouldn’t be in hospital.

“Mhhrmmmm” moaned Heath, as he opened one eye and looked up at her a little blearily, “**** my head hurts!”

He clamped his eyes shut again for a moment and shook his head a little to clear the dizziness.

“I can’t believe you did that!” he moaned, “You could have killed me!”

“Yeah, well” she said, being less than sympathetic, “How else was I meant to get you to stop?! Typical Braxton, like a bull in a china shop!"

"Well, you stopped me alright!" he smirked. 

She frowned down at him as he winced again. He was obviously in pain.

“Is it really bad?!” she asked, “Do you want to go to hospital?”

He gave a little snort and shrugged his head away from her hand.

“I’m okay” he grunted, “I’ve had worse.”

She stood with her hands on her hips and her mouth pulled into a tight line. She’d had quite enough of Braxton-type violence for one lifetime and her patience was wearing thin.

“Okay” she sighed, pulling her fingers through her hair as she threw herself down on one of the chairs beside him, “What the hell is this about?!”

“I need to tell you something” he said, glancing with narrowed eyes at Cameron and pointing an accusing finger, “About him!”

“Heath, come on! It’s nothing!” said Cameron, “It was just a misunderstanding, wasn’t it?! We can talk about this, just me and you? I won’t even press charges for you hitting me.”

Heath turned to glare at him.

“You really think you can blackmail me about something like this?!” he snarled at him, “How low can you possibly get?!

“Nobody’s pressing charges!” said Ricky, as she flashed a look of warning at Cameron, “And one of you is gonna to tell me what this is about! Right NOW!”

“He’s the one you should be hitting!” said Heath, as he turned back to face her, “He’s not the guy you think he is!”

“Heath, for Christ sake!” pleaded Cameron, “Can you just let me explain?! It’s not what you think!”

“Explain?!” snapped Heath, “How are you gonna explain Brax being alive and you not telling us?! Huh?! How do you explain that?! …I saw the file, Cam! I saw it!”

“What?!” gasped Ricky.

All the blood had instantly drained from her face as she looked back and forth between the two men.

“What are you talking about?!” she asked. Her whole world felt like it was spinning. Had Heath really said those words?!

“Brax is alive!” said Heath.

“We don’t know that!” snapped Cameron.

“Brax?” she repeated, “He’s alive?”

She sounded a little dazed, mainly because she was. She’d spent the last ten years desperately hoping that they’d find him, but gradually over the years that hope had begun to fade. She’d begun to accept that he was probably dead. That the man she loved had died a long time ago, and that they’d spent the last decade chasing after a ghost. The thought that he might come back now, especially since she’d started to move on with her life, had her heart racing and her stomach doing somersaults. She wasn’t sure what she was feeling. Was it excitement? Fear? Dread?! The thought of seeing him again after all these years actually terrified her. But what kind of person did that make her?! 

“Yes, Brax is alive” insisted Heath, “He’s alive… There’s a whole file… but this piece of **** has been hiding it from us!

“Heath” sighed Cameron, “I wasn’t hiding it! I just hadn’t told you yet!”

“Same difference!” snorted Heath.

“It could all be a hoax!” he said, holding his hands up in a conciliatory way, “I just didn’t want to get all your hopes up till we know something for sure! …I didn’t want any of you to get hurt!”

“He’s alive…” said Heath, smiling at Ricky and ignoring him, “Brax is alive!”

She wasn’t returning his smile though. She was just staring at him.

“There’s been no confirmation!” said Cameron, “We don’t know anything for sure yet.”

He dropped the tea towel and came round the table to crouch down in front of Ricky. He put his hands on her knees and gave her a worried little smile. She had a glassy sort of ‘thousand yard’ stare.

“Babe…” he said, “I just wanted to make sure it really was something before I got your hopes up… We’ve been checking it out… but at the moment it’s just a lead.”

“You got a letter from Brax!” corrected Heath, “A letter! In his handwriting… Asking… no begging for help… and telling you exactly where he is! …And you decided to hide it from us!”

“No!” growled Cameron, as he turned to look at Heath, “No, we were checking it out, before we notified you… There’ve been far too many false alarms and this… well, this one is too far-fetched! I’ve been waiting…”

“That wasn’t your choice to make!” snapped Heath, “He’s my brother! You don’t get to decide what information I get, and what I don’t! … And I’m telling you now, if you’ve put my brother at risk, and anything’s happened to him, I will kill you!”

“For **** sake, Heath!” he growled back at him, “I was just trying to protect Ric!”

He turned back towards her and gently turned her face towards him. She was just staring blankly.

“I was just trying to protect you” he said to her.

“Yeah, right” snorted Heath, “I bet you ‘protect’ her real well… Like Brax coming back wouldn’t throw a real spanner in the works for you and her!” He sneered at him. “You just didn’t want him coming home and stopping you from playing happy families!”

“You genuinely think I’d stop him from coming home?” he asked. He sounded both hurt and offended.

“You’re trying to tell me you wouldn’t?!” laughed Heath, in a nasty kind of way, “I know how much you want to be with Ric! Sniffing around her for years!”

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t do that!” he replied bitterly, “Believe it or not, Heath, I am not that kind of person… I’ve been working Brax’s case for the best part of a decade and… whether you want to believe it or not, I do actually want him to come home! I care about this family… all of you! And I love Ric, and Casey… and if Brax really is in China, then I’m gonna do my best to get him home…

Heath just snorted. He didn’t believe him.

“Wait here!” he snapped at him, before giving Ricky a little kiss on the cheek and leaving the room.

“Ricky?!” whispered Heath, reaching over and taking her hand now that Cameron was gone, “Ric! Have you even heard a word we’ve been saying?!”

“I’ve been listening” she said, looking up from the table, “I just can’t get my head around this… He actually sent a note?”

“Yeah, he did!” said Heath, unable to hide his excitement, “He’s alive Ric! We can get him back!”

“But… did… did Cam really say China?” she asked, “How the hell did he end up in China?! H-how could that have happened?!”

“God knows!” laughed Heath, in a nervous sort of way.

“But… he’s really in China?” she asked again. This didn’t make sense.

“Yeah, he’s been in China…” he said, shaking his head in wonder, “Like for ten years! Some kind of factory or prison camp… or something… He managed to hide this little folded up note in one of the boxes being shipped over here… and someone found it, like three weeks ago.”

“Three weeks ago?” she asked, glancing at the doorway to see where Cameron had gone. Her blood was beginning to boil. How could he have kept this to himself?! Where did he get off hiding something like that from her?!

“Cam’s been hiding the file in his desk…” frowned Heath, as though he’d read her mind, “Keeping it from us… Who knows what’s happened in the meantime?!”

“I was trying to explain that!” said Cameron as he walked back in and shoved some printouts under Heath’s nose. He nodded for Ricky to come and have a look too, so she pulled her chair over. He jabbed his finger at the page a little angrily.

“We tracked down the distributors” he said, indicating the name ‘eroticnights.com’ on a page advertising ‘life-like dildos’. “That led us to the manufacturers” he continued, “But we couldn’t get a clear answer on where their facilities are… We got sent in circles for days, looking at derelict buildings… a total wild goose chase… One place we thought could be it, turned out to be completely empty.”

He flicked over to show them another print out. This one showed some aerial photos of a huge military-type complex with high fences and barbed wire around the outside. It looked more like an army compound than a factory.

“I have a colleague that has some contacts over there…” he continued, “They’ve been doing a bit of a recce… Checking places out unofficially…They managed to get us this, but we only got the details a couple of days ago.”

“So… what’s happening?” asked Ricky.

“You’re actually looking for him?” asked Heath, in a disbelieving way.

“Well, we don’t know if it’s true, or not” he said, “The whole letter in a bottle… or letter in a dildo thing… It’s a tough sell for my superiors… They’re not convinced this isn’t some ridiculous over-elaborate hoax.”

“A dildo?” asked Ricky, with a strange look on her face.

“Yeah, they found the note in a dildo some girls bought online” said Cameron.

She reached out and picked up the pieces of paper in front of her, flicking back to the page for ‘eroticnights.com’. She stared at it, with a little smile beginning to form around the edges of her mouth.

“They make the ‘Stallion Tamer’, don’t they?” she asked.

“Uhhh, yeah?” said Cameron.

He couldn’t help looking at her with newfound curiosity. She’d never been one for sex toys, at least not since he’d been with her. A little flash of jealousy flared up inside him as he wondered whether she’d been more adventurous with Brax.

“It’s definitely Brax” she said, nodding at Heath, “Smithy gave us one of those things… a Stallion Tamer.”

Heath raised an eyebrow at her, a hint of amusement in his eyes. He could be quite childish sometimes.

“He just wanted to wind Brax up…” she explained, with a roll of her eyes, “Embarrass him in front of his staff…”

“Right… so?” asked Heath.

“So, he had all these connections…” she said, “He must have been in business with these… these Chinese dildo guys… and…”

“They took him to China?” he said, finishing her sentence for her.

“I can’t believe you kept this from me!” she said, suddenly glaring up at Cameron in anger, “I could have told you this was real! I could have told you it was really Brax!”

“Ric, I’m sorry!” he said, kneeling down beside her again, “I just didn’t want you getting hurt again. Not after Brisbane… and I’m still trying to get authorisation to send a team over there…”

“You mean, you still haven’t done anything about it?!” huffed Heath, “Tell me where it is, I’ll fly over there myself!”

Cameron rolled his eyes at him. “Yeah” he said sarcastically, “You do that, Heath.”

“What?!” he snapped, “I will!”

“Good luck with that” sighed Cameron, “Heath, you can’t just go to China and rock up there knocking on the door.”

“Well, it’s better than what you guys seem to be doing” he answered, a little sulkily, “Better than sitting there with your thumb up your asses!”

“I’m doing my best!” said Cameron, “But… well… sending a team to China is a pretty expensive use of resources… and that’s not even getting into the International relations aspect…”

“Cam” said Ricky, leaning forward and taking his face in her hands, “I need you to make this happen.”

She was still angry with him but she figured that you catch more flies with honey, and he was always pretty easy to manipulate if she played it sweet. She needed him working with her, not against her.

“I’m trying” he said, giving her a nervous little smile, “I’m trying, Ric… Maybe Heath thinks I’m an asshole, but… well, I’m not.”

“I know that” she said, leaning in to give him a kiss, “…and I love you… But I need you to do this for me… That man is the father of my child... and I can’t let him down.”

“I know” he said, giving her a smile, but there was a flicker of jealousy there. He couldn’t help it. He looked over his shoulder at Heath and shook his head at him. “I guess you all got together… You and Kyle and Josh… and what?! Decided I was like the worst human being you’ve ever met?”

“Something like that” snorted Heath. He still wasn’t entirely convinced by Cameron’s explanation and he definitely wasn’t ready to apologise.

Cameron looked at his watch. It was just after 1am.

“Too late to get them over here?” he asked, “I don’t really want them thinking badly of me longer than they have to… and I want Ric to see that letter.”

“****!” said Heath, as he suddenly started patting down the pockets of his jeans, "I forgot!"

He produced a door key from one of his pockets and glanced up at Ricky with a guilty little grimace. 

“Josh might find it hard to get here!” he said.

 

*****

 

Anna heard it from the hallway, as soon as the lift door opened. The howling and banging was incredibly loud! So loud in fact, that Mrs Worowicz, their rather deaf next door neighbour, was standing on the landing in her pink velveteen dressing gown and hair curlers, with a look of panic on her face. It was nearly 2am after all! She had her portable phone in her hand.

“I was just going to call the police!” she gasped when she saw Anna, “It sounds like he’s killing someone in there!”

There was the sound of someone crying and pleading ‘No, please don’t’ over and over again. It wasn’t really clear whether it was a man or a woman. Just some tortured soul, howling in anguish, and crying out for help. She had to agree that it didn’t sound good, but somehow, instinctively, she knew that it was Josh.

“No don’t do that!” shouted Anna, being sure to enunciate clearly, “It’s fine, Mrs Worowicz, I’ll sort it out”

The banging was continuous, loud crashing thuds, one after another. And anguished sobs that just about tore her heart out. ‘He’s obviously having a meltdown’ she thought to herself, ‘I wonder what’s wrong?!’ She hunted for her keys in the bottom of her bag but the panic was making it difficult. Her fingers just weren’t cooperating!

“I think it’s just a nightmare” she explained, glancing up apologetically at the older lady, “He has them sometimes… I’m so sorry he’s scared you.”

“Some nightmare!” exclaimed Mrs Worowicz, “People having nightmares don’t normally tear the house down.”

“They’re not normally this bad.” she said, still rummaging for her keys.

After a moment or two, when the search proved unproductive, she just emptied the contents out onto the floor and plucked the keys out of a pile of dog treats, poopa-scoopa bags, make-up, and chocolate bar wrappers.

“I don’t like this” said the neighbour, “My husband was like that… Liked to throw his weight around… You don’t have to go in there if you don’t want to…”

“It’s not like that” said Anna, patting her on the arm reassuringly.

Just then, there was a particularly loud bang, followed by a ‘Noooo! I can’t! I don’t want to! Please!!! Please don’t!” He was crying inconsolably. It was pitiful.

“Things aren’t like they used to be” said Mrs Worowicz, with a wide-eyed pleading sort of look, as she gave Anna’s sleeve a little tug in the direction of her apartment instead. “Time was, if you’d made your bed, then you had to lie in it… Now women have choices…”

“Really, Mrs Worowicz” said Anna, “I’m not in any danger… and… Josh and I aren’t even a couple.”

Mrs Worowicz raised an eyebrow at her then, partly in disbelief, because she’d seen the way that Anna looked at him, and partly in disapproval.

“We’re really not” she assured her.

“Still…” she said, wincing a little at the latest bang, “Maybe we should let the… police deal with this? …Or call an ambulance?”

“No, really” said Anna, “I’ll handle it”  

She threw the old lady a nervous glance as she put the key in the lock and cautiously opened the door.

“I have the police on speed dial” said the old woman, holding the phone up to let her see, “Anything happens and I’m calling…”

“It’ll be okay” she replied, as she stepped inside and turned to smile at her again, “Now, you go on back inside… I’ll pop over for a chat when I’ve calmed things down.”

Mrs Worowicz didn’t make a move. She just stood there looking concerned as Anna pulled the door closed with a click.

The screaming was even louder now that she was inside, but she’d figured out immediately that the noise was coming from the bathroom and the loud banging was of someone bashing repeatedly against the heavy door. The walls in the flat were paper thin, but for some reason, whoever had furnished the place had decided to invest in solid wood doors.

“Josh?!” she called out as she made her way quickly to the bathroom door, “Josh?! What’s going on?!”

She tried the door handle but it was locked.

Just then there was a loud crash against the other side of the door and the whole thing shook within the door frame.

“Nooooo!” he screamed, “Noooooo!!!”

“Josh?! What are you doing?!” she shouted, startled by the wailing creature on the other side, “Open the door!”

“There’s no way out” he said, suddenly using a much quieter voice and leaning against the wood on the other side, “There’s no way out…”

It was almost a whisper. She could hardly make it out, but it was obviously Josh.

“Josh?” she asked, “What are you saying?”

She leaned her ear against the door to try to hear him better.

“I can’t get away…” he whispered, “And he won’t stop, no matter what I do.”

She could tell that he was standing pressed up against the door as he spoke. He was right there, whispering to her.

“They put me in a cage” he said, “Like an animal in mating season… I don’t have a choice…He can just do it to me over and over… and over and over… and over and over… and I can’t stop him… can’t stop him… can’t stop him… can’t make him stop!”

“Josh?” said Anna, “Who are you talking to?”

“Little Fish is crying?” whispered Josh, in an attempt at a Russian accent, “He cries because he is happy? Yes?’ …Sick Russian ****!”

“Josh?!” she asked, getting frustrated now, “Are you making fun of me or something?! Will you answer me?!”

“No… please, Alexei?!” he whimpered, “No! I don’t want to! It hurts! …It really hurts!”

“Wait, what’s going on?!” she gasped, as she realised what he was saying.

For a fleeting moment, she’d wondered if there was someone else in there with him, but then she realised that that was ridiculous. He was just having one of his ‘episodes’. This one happened to be particularly bad!

“I tried to tell him…” he whispered.

She could tell that he was crying from the way he was breathing.

“I told him ‘no’…” he continued, “I told him ‘no’…I told him… but he wouldn’t stop… He wouldn’t stop!”

“Josh?!” shouted Anna, “Can you open the door?!”

How was she going to get through to him?! Was he having flashbacks or something?!  She knew that he had PTSD but this was worse than anything she'd dealt with previously.

“Can’t open the door” he answered, but it was clear that he wasn’t really answering her. His mind was somewhere else. Sometime else.

“Can’t open the door…” he mumbled again, “I’m trapped in here… with him …Never gonna be clean, never gonna be clean again… never again…”

“Josh, sweetie?!” she said, “You’re freaking me out now!”

She shook the door handle again and then dropped to her knees to try to look through the keyhole. The key wasn’t in the lock! It normally was. Had someone taken it out after locking the door?! Josh never locked doors. Not ever! He was terrified of being locked in places. She knew that.

Where was the key?!

“Josh?!” she shouted, “Do you have the key for the door?! Come on, mate, can you unlock the door for me? Can you let me in?!”

“No way out” he whispered again.

He was right in front of her, just like she’d thought. She could see the fabric of his t-shirt through the keyhole.

She crouched there for a moment outside the door and wondered what to do. Maybe she’d have to call Emergency Services, just like Mrs Worowicz had suggested, and get them to come get him out? Or maybe she could call Ricky or one of the boys to come and help her out? It was late though, maybe that wasn’t fair on them?

Then she looked up at the edge of the door and gave a sigh of relief when she saw that the hinges were on the outside. They’d often joked about how dangerous it was that the bathroom door opened outwards because she’d nearly knocked Josh out on a couple of occasions by opening the door unexpectedly as he was walking past.

“You’re lucky I’m a DIY kinda gal!” she called to him, before running to the kitchen and flinging open the cupboard under the sink. “Come on! Phillips head screwdriver?!” she sang to herself as she rummaged through a box of junk that they affectionately called the ‘toolbox’.

“Aha!” she exclaimed, pulling the screwdriver from the box and making her way back towards the bathroom.

He’d begun shoulder charging the door again in the few moments that she’d been away. Maybe having her there had calmed him somewhat? She blushed a little when she caught herself thinking that. ‘Let’s not overthink things’ she told herself, as she began to undo the screws in the hinge-plates, one by one.

“Now Josh” she said, as she undid one of the screws from the top hinge-plate, “I’m gonna get you out of there… but I need you to move away from the door, mate… Can you do that for me?”

She peeked in through the keyhole and gave a little sigh of relief when she saw that he was wandering away across the room.

“That’s it, Josh” she said, as she unscrewed one of the lower screws, “You don’t wanna go charging at the door right now… You’ll end up killing me if you do… And no-one wants an Anna shaped pancake, alright?!”

He was still whispering but now his voice was too far away for her to hear. She peeked in through the keyhole again. He was crouched on the floor beside the toilet with his head hidden in his knees.

“Okay…” she said, “Just stay there, Josh… I’m gonna get you out!”

[pembie]

Do everything and anything and indeed grab the closet thing to hand to stop buffalo Heath turning Cam's face as flat as a pancake.. It wasn't a china vase was it Ricky bonkered off his head Ah you see what I did there? Brax/China/vase  No ok then I will go to sleep now I still get confused sometimes with Brax's timeline but clearly this isn't a simple job of getting him back I do feel quite sorry for Cam though Ricky bound to lush over Brax once he returns

But not before saying its a good job Anna's so blubby to come home to find Josh putting on a creepy Russian accent in the bathroom I don't know I would be putting his rent up

You been very busy in this wheather is it nippy up there in the North Pole at Santa's workshop I never realised you were a Elf Nah I'm just over joyed by your new release.