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Chapter 23

Tommy

Everyone relaxed, unwinding from the tension a few minutes after Jean-Yves left.

"How did he even know you were here?" Uniko questioned.

Xen sighed after thinking for a moment. "Dammit, it must have been Karen again..."

Egad raised an eyebrow. "Karen?"

"Karen Yolanda, our retired, tabby cat neighbor at the beach house me and Xen own." Mick explained. "To put it bluntly, she's a grouchy old bitchy broad stuck on a never-ending power trip. Karen is an obsessive snoop, always trying to keep tabs on everyone in our neighborhood. She's always trying to look inside our windows with binoculars, and we've even caught her snooping inside the house once! I don't know how she did it, but she managed to pick the lock on the front door when me and Xen were at the market. After that, Xen had to replace all the windows with adjustable tinted ones, as well as installing blinds and curtains. He also replaced the locks on all the doors with super heavy-duty ones, as well as installing a security system and cameras."

"Yeah, I remember that." Symon added in. "That was shortly after I moved in. I found her nosing around the kitchen that day after I got out of the shower. The police were called, and we ended up pressing charges against her over that one.... Golly, that was jolly-good bloody fun." He finished with sarcasm. "Thankfully, she only got as far as snooping through the living room and kitchen. So, she doesn't know anything about Mick's transporter jobs. All that info is on Xen's computers in the room he uses as his personal office. Of course, Karen threw a fit after she was caught and the police were called, as well as calling the local Homeowners Association to complain about the new additions to the house. Though in the end, she couldn't do anything about it since those kinds of additions are not against the HOA's rules. In fact, they were encouraged, and even boosted the house's overall value. Along with that, she always has gotten phone-happy with the police more than once with others in Mick's neighborhood on trivial issues. It ended up getting so bad that another neighbor had to put in a restraining order against her, and the police finally threatened to arrest her if she didn't stop."

"Wow..." Jet said. "Talk about paranoia."

"Still, it doesn't explain how she knew where you were." Galen pointed out.

"I know..." Xen started thinking back again. "...Hho-derr! She must have heard a snippet of me talking to Mick on the phone when I was leaving the beach house!" Xen proceeded to explain while letting loose Spanish profanities. "I was talking to him while I was packing up things I needed and ended up hanging up before I started my motorcycle after I confirmed the address. She was outside in her front yard that day, tending to her flower beds when I left... Hijo de puta, that nosy little coño!"

"Yep." Mick agreed. "We all can agree on that one: She is a snoopy cunt. Luckily, we just dodged a bullet this time."

"Good thing, too." Egad said. "On the bright side, I'm very impressed with how you handled Inspector Ticcoran. You played that off like a natural."

"Thanks, Uncle." Mick said. "Anyways, we still need to figure out what to do about Cailus."

"True." Egad replied, sitting back on the couch with Jet and Symon. "I've been mulling over some ideas this morning, but I'm still trying to iron them out. In the meantime, let's try to relax, and enjoy the nice breakfast Zarch and his sons have made for us."

"Definitely." Mick agreed. He and Xen then sat crossed legged at the coffee table with Uniko and Zhal, and they all started to work through breakfast.

# # # # # #

Meanwhile, at Shadewoods Manor...

Bishop sat still in the chair, not showing any resistance as a few of Cailus's men fitted him with the electric collar, ankle cuffs, and wristbands, along with securing a shock ring at the base of his cock. Though Bishop hated having to wear these when Cailus told him to, he knew he didn't have a choice in the matter. Honestly, he wished Master Cailus never had been able to discover his most venerable weakness after he had been captured and broken. Though his scales were very tough and could deflect laser fire and even take small-caliber solid ordinance without any trouble, they weren't without their weaknesses. One of the dragon's major vulnerabilities was that his scales were extremely conductive when exposed to electric currents. That, and his body never was able to adapt to electrical shock. For Bishop, being electrocuted put him in extreme pain... So much so, that the cold, battle-hardened dragon would end up a sobbing mess afterwards.

Bishop still remembered how he came into Cailus's servitude five years ago. He was hiking on a mountain with his then 14-year old son, Tommy on his home world of Sepharth. The memories of the beautiful flora of the forests, the crisp mountain air, and the playful, loving laughter of his son still hung in his mind... Though those were the only beautiful memories of the ordeal.

While they were hiking, Bishop and Tommy had been ambushed by a group of slave hunters in Cailus's employ. It all started with an electrical blast flying past their heads, striking a tree. Bishop wasn't stupid, he knew they were being attacked. He and Tommy began to sprint off the trail and into the vegetation, even flying over a few gorges and crevices with their wings in a desperate attempt to lose their pursuers.

The hunters were well-equipped, as if they planned for what they would do. They had jetpacks to chase them when they took flight, along with infrared and temperature-reading goggles that could track them no matter how well they tried to hide. The hunters chased them down, relentless, void of mercy or compassion, firing upon them with dart guns, bolas snares, and long-range tazers. Bishop recalled when he had been hit by a taser blast in their attempt to flee from the hunters. The current ran across his body like swords raking into his flesh down to the bone. That gave one of the hunters enough time to snag Bishop with a few bolas, as they tangled around his legs and body.

When Bishop fell, he was unable to stand up and recover, let alone fight back due to the intense voltage of the tazer blast. He screamed for Tommy to run, to leave him and not look back. Though his valiant act did no good in end... Tommy ended up getting shot in the back with a taser as well when he tried to escape. Bishop could only watch as Tommy collapsed on the ground, bawling at the top of his lungs in pain while they were surrounded by the slave hunters.

The hunters didn't show either of them any quarter or leniency, chaining them up like animals on the spot. They dragged both dragons to a nearby VTOL-capable ship, throwing them inside like they were just objects, rather than living beings.

After a short and painful flight as they were taken off-world, they ended up at Shadewoods Manor. The hunters dragged them into the main hall, striking them with cattle prods when they resisted. Once inside the main hall, they were forced onto their knees with the prods. It was then that the saw who was responsible for their capture.

Bishop could remember Cailus walking into the main hall from down a staircase, dressed in a fine suit. Once he stood in front of Bishop and Tommy, he proceeded to look them over carefully. Once he was satisfied, he went over to the leader of the hunters, and took out an envelope from his pocket, paying them for their service while Bishop and Tommy were hauled away by a bunch of Cailus's servants. Though that was only the beginning... Bishop and Tommy ended up going through relentless and painful torture, as Cailus used painful and harming methods of torture to "condition" them: Electrocution, total sensory deprivation in solitary confinement, beatings, pressure point applications, everything that took pain to an extreme. These methods were inhumane, bordering on the point of killing them in a slow, psychotic manner.

Bishop, though he was strong and determined, ended up breaking from this after only five months. The pain was simply too great... He felt ashamed of himself, that he had let Tommy down by giving in. Though deep down, he knew he had no choice. Sadly, his submission to Cailus only seemed to amplify the resistance in his son. Tommy's resilience became steeled after that, his defiant will a reflection of solid diamond. Cailus still had not been able to make Tommy submit, who was now 21 years of age.

Bishop was never able to get those memories out of his head, no matter how hard he tried to push them aside and bury them. Then again, it seemed like Bishop clung desperately to those memories, as if they were the only thing keeping him sane and allowing him to go on.

After being fitted with what Cailus called his "obedience equipment" Bishop re-dressed himself, dawning his loose monk pants once more. He was then led to Cailus's study by one of the servants. Bishop was a little puzzled as to what was going on.

Once he stepped into Cailus's study, he saw the reason he had been called. Cailus was standing next to his desk, while Tommy was kneeling on both knees at Cailus's heel, naked and restrained by thick irons around his wrists and ankles with short, thick chains that rendered him immobile. Tommy also was wearing a shock collar, as well as an electric cock ring.

"Ah, Bishop... I'm glad you are here." Cailus spoke. "There is a matter that we need to discuss."

Bishop knelt in front of Cailus on one knee. "Very well, Sir. You have my full attention."

Cailus smiled, his evil grin showing his teeth. "Very good. You see... Your son, Tommy... He is still refusing to break and submit to me. Despite the intense conditioning I have been putting him through. Therefore, I have been left with no choice, other than to take extreme measures... Your son is going to be sent away to one of my brothels, where he will be taught by the masters and mistresses there on how to properly behave. However, I am not going to be without mercy on your end. You will have ten minutes to talk with Tommy in private before he is taken away. Your time starts now..."

With that, Cailus stepped out the room, closing the door behind him.

Bishop was left reeling from this sudden news. However, he quickly regained his composure after two agonizing, silent minutes. He walked up to Tommy, dropping in front of him on both knees.

"Tommy... Why do you still continue to defy Cailus?" He asked softly, tears starting to run from his eyes. "This is only making it harder on yourself..."

"I don't care!" Tommy snarled, pulling hard against his chains. "I'm never going to do anything for that low-life bastard! I would rather die!"

Bishop grabbed Tommy by the base of the chin, forcing his son to look at him in the eyes. "I know you are angry... Trust me, I am able to relate more than you know. But I can't lose you... Not like this... Please, just give in to Cailus' will. Stop fighting him..."

Tommy jerked his chin out of Bishop's grip. "Give in?! Like you did?!! Fuck that, and fuck Cailus, too!!" He yelled, taking in a few deep breaths before starting to settle. Tommy looked at Bishop with an intense leer. "I still can't believe you submitted to him, that you ended up becoming his pet attack dog... It makes me sick just thinking about it! You may have broken under his grip of power, but I won't... I will never give in to Cailus and serve him like an animal, and if I end up having to throw my life away in the process... Then so be it. That, and I won't forget how you let me down... How you just ended up giving in like a sniveling coward... You should be ashamed of yourself, father."

Bishop paused for a few moments, looking at his son with intense pain. Then, he slapped Tommy hard across the face, tiring of his belligerence. "My son... You will never understand just how ashamed I am... I pray that someday, you will be able to accept that this is how we must live now. There is no escape from this... In the meantime, I guess you will have to learn this the hard way." Bishop stood up slowly and turned to face the door. He had only taken a few steps before turning back to look at Tommy. "...Despite how uncaring this may seem... I do hope you realize how much this hurts me. Just know that I still love you deeply, and while you are away... You will be in my thoughts and prayers..."

Bishop then walked out of the room, hearing Tommy start sobbing in grief. Though in the end, Bishop would end up fully breaking down later that day, when he was alone in his quarters.