Staying Human

Chapter 11: Captives

Chapter 11: Captives 

 Mitch was being pushed and pulled this way and that, getting rather annoyed by it. Every now and then he would turn to look back at Joey only to have the guy holding him pull harder. He looked around at his surroundings but there wasn't much to look at. They were in some big warehouse, and it reminded Mitch of the place Kevin had his business. Smelled the same also, although this place seemed to be much bigger than Kevin's building. Finally after walking for what seemed like an hour they came to a gross looking door and the man pulled him to a stop. He pulled out a set of keys and fumbled around until he found the right one, putting it in and opening it up. Mitch glanced in the room and made a face at how gross it looked. The man didn't seem to care though and pushed him inside. Mitch stumbled to his knees and glanced up at the guy finally able to get a good look at him. He was a big guy, maybe even bigger than Scott and Mitch noticed he had a cast on his arm. Mitch was curious about how he'd broken it. Joey was pushed inside and practically fell on Mitch which made the two guys laugh. "Cooperate and no one gets hurt got it?" The man that was holding Joey stated and Mitch rolled his eyes before the two men walked out and slammed the door. The two boys could hear the click of the door locking and made eye contact. Joey looked scared and Mitch wanted to say that it would be ok, but the tape over his mouth wouldn't allow him to. He began to move his mouth around to loosen the tape, eventually getting it peeled off a little. Joey watched him carefully as he brought his knees up and rubbed his mouth against them to peel the tape all the way off.

 "Jesus Christ....that was harder then it had to be..." He mumbled and looked up at Joey. "You ok?" He asked and Joey nodded slightly. Mitch scooched as close as he possibly could to him and smiled. "Uh...this is probably going to be awkward but I think I can get the tape off your mouth with my teeth." Joey raised an eyebrow at him and Mitch was pretty sure he was smiling. "Ready?" He asked and Joey nodded. Mitch chuckled and leaned into Joey's face grabbing at the tape with his teeth. It was harder than Mitch thought it would be but he was finally successful and peeled off the tape, spitting it out and smiling in triumph. 

"That was awkward...but thanks." Joey said. 

"You're welcome." Mitch answered and looked around. The walls were very rough and Mitch could see nails poking out everywhere. Joey looked around and then at Mitch in confusion. 

"What are you looking at?" He finally asked and Mitch turned back to him. 

"I'm looking for a way to get this tape off. These walls have nails poking out, maybe I can tear the tape with them." He answered and stood up. He walked over to the nearest wall and examined each nail until he found one that looked promising. 

"I would never have even thought of that." Joey mumbled. 

"Yeah well if I hadn't spent all that time running from my father with Scott I wouldn't have thought of it either." Mitch replied and began rubbing the tape against the nail. Joey watched him in silence for a minute realizing this is what Scott had meant when he told him to keep an eye on Mitch. These men, whoever they are must want Scott or they wouldn't be keeping he and Mitch alive. 

"Who are these guys Mitch?" He finally asked; his voice worried. Mitch stopped and saw Joey's worried eyes. 

"I don't know exactly. I assume they all work for this Brett guy." 

"Brett?" Joey asked. 

"Yeah, I met him the night you showed up. He's kind of the reason we had a rough night." Mitch explained. 

"So Scott knows them?" He continued to ask and Mitch shrugged. 

"I guess so. Brett said he was a friend of his but Scott said they weren't friends. I'm guessing they worked together and it didn't go well. Brett said he got shot and Scott left him bleeding all over the place so he wouldn't get caught. So Brett is apparently after Scott." 

"Like a revenge thing?" Joey asked getting more worried. 

"He said something about making Scott an offer and Scott turned him down. I don't know if it's revenge or if he wants to use us to make Scott do whatever he wants. Either way Scott will come for us, and he'll be pissed." Mitch said confidently. He was one hundred percent sure Scott would come and kill every last one of them. Joey was also sure Scott would come but the way he saw it, they didn't need him. They needed leverage against Scott and that's what Mitch was for. What was stopping them from killing him? One hostage was easier then two...he really picked a bad time to visit. "What's up with you?" Mitch asked and Joey snapped out of thought. 

"What? Nothing....why?" Mitch eyed him seeing the worry in his eyes. 

"You know Scott won't let them hurt you. Despite the fact that he thinks you're annoying he really does like you Joey. He'll come for both of us." Mitch reassured him. 

"It's not Scott I'm worried about." He mumbled. "What do you mean?" Mitch asked puzzled by his statement. "I mean these guys don't need me. What if they decide that having two hostages is more trouble than it's worth. I'd be the one they would get rid of." He looked away from Mitch's gaze. 

"Joey...they won't kill you." Mitch said and went back to work on the tape. 

"How can you be sure of that?" 

"Well because if they did Scott would never cooperate with them. If they want him to help them they'll have to keep us both alive." Joey thought a moment and decided Mitch could be right. At least he hoped he was right. "Just relax. It's going to be ok." Joey watched Mitch work on getting the tape off, he was so sure of himself. If Mitch wasn't here Joey would definitely be screwed. And he was right, Scott would come and he would bring hell with him. That's the good thing about Scott, you could always count on him to be angry and ready to hurt anyone that got in his way.