The Price We Pay for Family - 8

Cont... 

AJ wrapped himself tighter around Cass, making sure his younger brother was warm, at least. Uncle Sam had taught them what to do when this happened, but he never thought it would happen in a million years. 

He'd never seen it coming. One second he'd been yelling at Cass for yelling at Mom; the next, being thrown in the trunk of a car. They'd drugged him because AJ didn't remember falling asleep. When he'd woken up, he and Cass were locked in an empty storage room. 

They'd taken his phone and Cass's glasses which had trackers. AJ had luckily been wearing his contact lenses so he could still see without much trouble. Cass could, too, to a degree. Their father had almost as blind as a bat, and both boys had the misfortune of inheriting that gene. AJ had it worse than Cass, but Cass still had it enough that trying to run if the chance showed itself would be tough. 

Whoever had grabbed them had left the single lightbulb in the small closet on showing their predicament. The room was empty of anything save a bucket in the far corner. The door had no handle from inside, and when AJ pushed on it, it was locked. 

They were trapped inside, but they were fine. Other than the small needle mark AJ had spotted on Cass's neck that he was sure matched him, they were unharmed. 

The only other upside with the whole thing was that while the door was brake-out proof, it wasn't soundproof. So he and Cass could hear what was happening on the other side. It was good to figure out there were three men and a woman but bad when AJ realized what they wanted. 

"You think this'll work?" Thing 1 asked. (Cass had called the men Thing 1, 2, and 3. AJ had decided the woman was to be called Cruella Devil.) 

"Nothing is for certain except one thing," Cruella laughed slightly, "Nothing is more powerful than loyalty." 

"What do you mean?" Thing 2 asked. 

"I've been studying them; there is nothing they wouldn't do for each other. This included." Cruella explained. 

"Hey!" Thing 3 called out, "They're back at the house." 

"Showtime." Thing 2 got up, chair scraping against the ground. 

"Is the stuff up and running?" Cruella asked. 

"Yep. Finishing the auto switch now." Thing 3 answered. 

Big heavy footsteps came towards them, and AJ quickly shoved Cass behind him and hurried back from the door. Thing 1 opened the door glaring down at them. He was about 6 feet and looked European. He was also holding a gun. Stay calm and do what they want. Don't make them mad. Uncle Sam's voice echoed through AJ's head as he shifted, so Cass was all the way behind him. 

"Don't say anything until we hand you the phone, got it?" Thing 1 snapped, slight accent. 

AJ nodded, and he could feel Cass doing the same. 

"Here we go." Thing 2 smiled from where he sat at a computer. He was middle eastern but had no accent; he was also huge. 

"You're on," Thing 3 held out a headset to Cruella. He had a U.K. accent and was by far the smallest of the group, his sandy hair coming up a whole foot shorter than the others. 

Cruella was older but had black hair tied up in a bun and was dressed like she was supposed to be in a fashion magazine their mom liked now and then, ridiculous heels and all. Cruella nodded and slid the headset on. The ringing of a phone filled the room. 

Then, "Hello?" Cass and AJ shared a look, Uncle Sam! 

"Put me on speaker." Cruella directed calmly. 

A countdown on Thing 3's laptop started the instant Uncle Sam picked up the phone. It was counting down from 45 seconds. Two seconds later, the other end became echoey, "You're on speaker." 

Cruella nodded to Thing 1 standing by AJ. Thing 1 produced a phone out of his pocket and handed it to AJ. AJ took it and put it up to his ear, "Hello?" 

"AJ? Baby?" Mama's voice echoed through the line, scared but hopeful.

 AJ didn't say anything about her calling him baby and tried not to cry in relief, "Mama?"

 "Oh, AJ, baby. Is your brother with you?" Mama asked; she was definitely crying now. 

AJ flipped the speakerphone on and handed the phone to Cass. "Mama?" Cass asked, tears edging out of his eyes.

 "Cass, baby." Their mother's voice filled the little room, "Are you two hurt?"

 "No, Mama, we're okay," AJ answered quickly, eyeing Thing 1, who was still looming over them. The timer was down to twenty seconds; the longer he could keep the phone, the more he could waste their time. 

"Good, I love you two, you know that?" Mama asked, still crying. Cruella was motioning for Thing 1 to take the phone. Time was up.

"Love you, mama." Both boys echoed. 

Thing 1 grabbed the phone, and a moment later, Cruella spoke again, "Take me off speaker." 

"You're off." Uncle Sam said after a moment, voice no longer echoing.

"Does that satisfy proof of life?" Cruella asked coolly. 

A moment then, "Yes. What do you want?" 

Cruella smiled, and something in AJ cowered; that was a victorious, predatory smile, "In exchange for your two nephews, I want your partner." 

AJ's heart stopped. Uncle Sam did work in a team, not yet. He only really worked with two people, Torres and Bucky. AJ was silently praying it wasn't who he thought it was. 

"I want the Winter Soldier." Cruella was grinning, and AJ had never wished someone serious harm until right then. Cass gave a small gasp behind him, prompting Thing 1 to glare at them menacingly. There was a beat of silence for a solid three seconds.

"Absolutely not." Uncle Sam's tone held steel under it, and AJ silently cheered him on. 

 At this, Cruella laughed, and nothing had ever sounded more terrifying to AJ. It wasn't even a full laugh, more like a slight chuckle, "Not even for your two nephews, your own flesh and blood? You have two hours to decide." 

Thing 3 hit the end call button, and they slid in under their time frame with only milliseconds to spare. Cruella smiled, "And that gentleman is how you get things done." 

Thing 1 closed the door and locked it walking away. The instant it was closed, both boys scrambled to put their ears up to the door and quiet their breathing.

 "You think he'll do it?" Thing 3 asked. 

"No, but I don't think he has a choice," Cruella said, a smile in her voice. 

That had been hours ago. It was cold now, and AJ reasoned it was night, but they hadn't been offered food, water, or blankets. Actually, it was like no one was here at all. The four people had walked out of hearing range quickly after the end of the call and hadn't come back. So AJ was left with barely anything to try and keep them both warm. 

They hadn't spoken about what they'd heard. Neither wanted to admit that this was really happening. So AJ pressed closer to Cass and prayed Uncle Sam would hurry up and find them. Before anything else went wrong.

 AJ desperately wanted to believe that Uncle Sam and Uncle Bucky were coming to get them right now, but deep down, AJ didn't think that was the case. Mama had sounded too scared; Uncle Sam hadn't sounded sure enough. No one was coming to get them. AJ shivered at the thought.

 "AJ," Cass whispered, "Do you think he'll do it?" Cass sounded scared, so scared, and so much younger than he was.

AJ shifted and thought about the question everyone kept asking. Would Uncle Bucky agree to trade himself for the two of them? In a heartbeat. "Yeah, I think he will." AJ nodded, "Yeah, he'll come get us. And then we'll get to go home. And mama will make that hatch chile cornbread you like." 

"With the honey butter?" Cass asked, pressing close. 

"Yeah." AJ agreed, "With honey butter." They were quiet for a long time, and AJ thought Cass was asleep until his brother spoke again. 

"I told mom I hated her. I didn't mean it." Cass whispered, "Do you think she's mad?"

 AJ's heart hurt for his little brother, "No, I don't think she is. I think all she wants is us back home." 

"What if that's the last thing I say to her?" Cass sniffled, starting to cry. 

"Hey, don't think like that, okay?" AJ shifted so he could see Cass's face and not his head. He pushed away the panic of how real a possibility that was and focused on Cass, "We're gonna be fine. Uncle Sam and Uncle Bucky will come and get us, and everything will be fine. Okay?" 

Cass scrubbed his tears away, "Okay." 

AJ settled back down, leaning against the wall, pulling Cass close, "We're gonna be okay." I hope.

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