This is a work of gay-themed romantic fantasy: if reading such material offends you or is illegal for ANY reason, please click away now. (I assume you know your laws better than I and this site reaches a world-wide audience.) Otherwise enjoy!
Keep Nifty free so donate, Donate, DONATE! You want to keep reading my deathless prose, don't you? Don't you?? DON'T YOU??? Otherwise--what am I doing this for? #attentionwhore
AUTHOR'S NOTES
This Chapter is somewhat different than the others in Dover and Son since it features Jay, Ben's Son, as the leading character. (Ben doesn't, in fact, make a direct appearance here.) Shout out to Tripp Savidge who wrote The Lab and Brad A. Townsend who wrote The Order: both works greatly influenced this section of the book.) The source material is well worth checking out--once you've finished reading this Chapter, of course.
Questions, comments, suggestions and constructive criticism are always welcome. Even your complaints (which I may or may not ignore) are listened to: I'm new to writing this sort of thing so I try to take something from everyone who writes me: drop me a note at RonVenable@hotmail.com or HonableRonable@gmail.com and I WILL write you back! (If you take time out of your busy schedule to write me, it's the least I could do!) I truly appreciate hearing from ALL of you--even the ones who complain.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Come Up to The Lab
CHARACTERS
Benjamin "Jay" Dover Jr. age 15 - kidnapped Son of our Hero Ben
Colin Stanford, age 17 -- Merman Prince kidnapped at the same time
Dr. Peter Barnsdall, age 44 -- Primary Stockholder in Barnsdall Pharmaceuticals
Dr. Mahesh Sahipalamahani, age 39 -- Researcher
Bryan Barnsdall, age 19 -- Peter's Son and his first "experiment"
Dr. John Cullen Cox AKA Cullen the Interrogator, age 40 -- Chief of Security, Barnsdall Pharmaceuticals
Jay paced the cell equally angry and frightened. The room had no windows and he and Colin had awakened naked but for some sort of fancy shock-collars so there was no way to tell time. The young man suspected this was an attempt to disorient the boys and eventually break their spirit but Jay was having none of that: he vowed he'd hold on until the Cavalry came to their rescue with his Dad leading the charge!
"I wish you'd stop pacing!" Colin groused. "It's driving me crazy!"
"Like being stuck in this cell isn't doing the job all on its own?" the younger man shot back. "This is all your fault anyway!"
"My fault?" The blond merman looked confused and resentful. "I didn't arrange for us to get kidnapped?"
"No, you just put us in a place where we could be!" Jay growled. "If you'd let me serve out my restriction neither of us would be here but, no! You had to go and do something STUPID and now look where we are!"
"It's not my fault!" Colin said again.
Jay sighed. "Look Coll... We have to work together if we're going to have any hope of getting out of here! Can you Shift?"
"Here--where there's no water!" Colin exploded. "Are you CRAZY?"
"They locked down your Siren ability," Jay said reasonably, but maybe they didn't lock down your `Mer' shape! Didn't you tell me your abilities were stronger in your Merform? Maybe they are strong enough to defeat the Collar!" The boy didn't tell Colin he'd tried a simple shift and found he could still do it; he was keeping that secret for now. He suspected there were cameras watching them 24-7.
----------MEANWHILE IN THE CONTROL ROOM ----------
"So, the good-looking blond boy is a Merman?" Peter Barnsdall said. He was tall and athletic, with short dark-brown hair and gray eyes: his charcoal-gray suit was impeccably cut to show off his well-toned body and he made sure everything he wore bespoke wealth and class. "What about the younger one? He doesn't look like much..."
"Nobody has been able to get a read' on the kid yet," replied Dr. Mahesh Sahipalamahani. He was tall, slim and sharp-featured with dark brown skin and eyes that almost seemed black. Unlike Barnsdall he wore a simple bathrobe that showed off his whipcord body. "I suppose I'll have to taste' him to get a better read--unless you want to unleash your Son on him..."
Barnsdall glanced at the third man in the group. He was a younger edition of Peter, with perfectly-coiffed hair the same color as his father and he had the same sculpted facial features but his eyes were milky gray. His perfectly-toned athlete's body was well on display in shorts and a polo that molded every muscular curve. "Dr. Sahipalamahani clearly wants to..." the younger man said distractedly.
Bryan Barnsdall, thanks to his father's cruel experiments, had gained amazing psionic abilities: he was busy scanning both boys locked in the cell to see if there was anything useful, or at least interesting about the pair. Colin, he quickly dismissed: he was a vapid, self-absorbed twit (rather like Bryan was before his father remade him in a new image). Jay hadn't had it easy, unlike his "friend" Colin, but somehow the kid hadn't soured on life: maybe it had something to do with the newly-discovered biological father he secretly idolized. Ben Dover (what a dumb name!) was a strict disciplinarian but there was no doubt in the kid's mind that his father loved him. He also picked up a few interesting tidbits about the kid's father which he decided not to share with his own father.
"What do you think boy?" Barnsdall asked his son.
{{Let him go in...}} Bryan sent. {{Dr. Sahipalamahani clearly wants a crack at them!}}
"What did he say?" the dark man asked. Being a Naga Shifter gave him the power to transform into a King Cobra but it made him telepathically deaf--especially when Bryan didn't want the snake-man to hear his words! If the Naga was foolish enough to go inside the cell, he was going to get a nasty surprise.
"The younger one is playing his cards awfully close to the vest," the senior Barnsdall said. "Maybe we should just dissect him and have done with it!"
{{I wouldn't advise that Father...}} Bryan put the tiniest bit of Coercive power behind his thought broadcast. He didn't want Jay to end up dead! {{You don't want to waste a potential resource, do you?}} An added subvocal compulsion made sure the older man didn't want to dissect Jay. He wanted to keep the kid around--for a while at least...
"There's no point in wasting a potential resource..." Barnsdall said distractedly.
Dr. Sahipalamahani gave the pair a jaundiced look, clearly wondering what had passed between Father and Son but he said nothing. He'd once voiced his suspicions about Bryan using his psychic abilities on his father and paid the price from both men. He wasn't eager to repeat THAT mistake again! The Naga recognized another snake when he saw one but his boss was convinced he'd "broken" his son to his will and there would be no changing the man's mind without hard evidence. (Even then it might be hard considering Bryan's awesome psychic armamentarium.) In addition, there were two terrified young men marinating in their own fear: he could almost smell the pheromones from here!
Another small Coercive push from Bryan gave the senior Barnsdall the impetus he needed. "Go ahead!" he ordered. "See if you can learn anything about the boy!"
The Naga made his way down to the row of locked cells until he came to the one holding Jay and Colin. He dropped his robe and bent down to open a little door (built just for him) that would allow a King Cobra to enter the cell and come out under Colin's bed: Sahipalamahani wasn't particularly interested in the blonde Merman but he didn't see any harm is slurping a little of Colin's terror: Nagas gained magical power by feeding on strong emotions. Lust worked well but this particular Naga preferred distilled fear and he expected a double helping from this pair.
Sahipalamahani got exactly the reaction he was hoping for from the Merman: Colin screamed and nearly pissed himself when the Naga emerged from under his bunk. Sahipalamahani took a moment to drink in the fear washing off the good-looking blond in torrents: he was so drunk on absorbing every ounce of Colin's fear and revulsion he didn't see Jay slipping in behind him and moving to grab the Cobra just behind the head. The sandy-haired boy squeezed with all his might and used his shape-changing power in a way he never had before. His hand became an ultra-sharp blade, neatly-slicing off the Cobra's head in one quit cut!
Concealing the death was far and away the most difficult psychic juggling act Bryan had ever attempted: the young man had to simultaneously fog his father's perceptions along with everyone else in the room--and that was just for starters. Peter Barnsdall had been conditioned over the months to accept his son's Coercive powers and not wonder about sudden emotional or reason changes but the Security Guys watching the screens were new "victims" and he had to go carefully with them. While the young Psi was working on those, he had to use his telekinetic abilities to remove the dead Naga from the cell and activate the Cleanerbots. Lastly, he had to attempt to psychically connect to Jay, a non-telepath--and he had to do all of this at once! {{Jay! Can you hear me?}}
{{Uh yeah! Are you some kind of psychic?}}
{{You catch on quick kid!}} Bryan sent. {{Looks like I was right to choose you.}}
{{Choose me? For what?}}
{{To shut down this House of Horrors once and for all!}} Bryan told him. {{Peter Barnsdall has been capturing Exotics to experiment on and creating his own army of Psychics! He has to be stopped!}}
{{His first and most successful experiment was me!}} Jay could pick up a deep anger and abiding sadness in the mental voice. {{I know what he did to me--what he's planning to do to others... We can't let him! He made a huge mistake when he let Dr. Merriwyck talk him into capturing you and your useless friend!}}
{{Colin isn't useless!}} Even now Jay felt the need to defend his friend.
{{For now, he is,}} came back the mental voice. {{Sorry to tell you this kid, but he is! All your boyfriend is doing his sitting there crying like a little girl!}}
{{You would too if a Cobra licked you!}} Jay responded defensively.
{{But the Cobra is dead--and he's still crying!}}
Jay sighed. {{Can we not argue about Colin now? Please??? If you contacted me you must want to tell me something or you need something from me! Which is it?}}
((Right now, you just need to know you have a friend on the outside}} came back the mental voice. {{It's only a matter of time until your Dad and his friends show up--hopefully armed to the teeth! I'll do what I can to help them but you need to be super careful and WATCH YOUR BOYFRIEND! He'd sell you out in a hot second if he thought it would get him out of here.}}
The young Dover sighed again: he suspected this stranger was right. {{So, who are you?}} he finally asked.
{{A friend,}} came back the mental response. {{What you don't know can't be tricked out of you! Be cautious if you feel someone try to mind-speak you; my--Barnsdall--has a pretty crafty Telepath on Staff and you want to avoid Cullen the Interrogator at all costs!}}
{{Cullen the Interrogator? Who's that?}}
The stranger sent a mental image of a tall man with platinum-blond hair and pale gray eyes. His skin was almost corpse-pallid and he seemed hairless from the neck down. He was built like a diver or water polo player and Jay got the feeling the stranger was just a little afraid of this guy. {{He likes to wear Red Leather and a gold skull-mask,}} the stranger sent. {{He's a Redactor Prime and has a pretty good array of Farsense abilities--and he gets off on pain! Be VERY careful around him: Cullen is one crazy fuck!}}
{{Thanks for the tip,}} Jay sent. {{I'll remember that.}}
{{I'll do what I can to protect you from Cullen,}} the mental voice said, {{but there's only so much I can do! Cullen and some of the others already think I'm not the cowed little twit I pretend to be! I'm not ready to tip my hand--at least not yet! I just hope your Dad is as badass as you seem to think he is! I'm going all in on him!}}
{{Trust me, he is!}} Jay replied confidently. {{He's Pals with Lycanthropes, Mages and the Fey that are still on Earth! He even knows Kevin McMasters!}}
{{The Toymaker?}} Now the mental voice was definitely interested. {{My--uh, Barnsdall is actually AFRAID of that Dude!}}
{{He should be.}} Jay sent. {{MY Dad treats that guy with caution and he faced down three Lords of Hell!}}
{{No shit?}} The mental voice was definitely awed. {{This--might--just--work!}}
----------The Next Morning----------
Breakfast was uninspiring but Jay ate every bite and urged Colin to do the same. "It's not much--but at least they're feeding us!" he said.
"For now..." Colin looked at the cold oatmeal, sliced banana and toast with no great favor. "I think I'll pass!"
"Fine! I'll eat it!" Jay reached for the tray and began shoving the sliced banana into his mouth (it being the most appetizing thing on the plate.)
"Hey!" the blond merman protested. "What happened to solidarity?"
"We lost that option when we got kidnapped!" Jay told him. "In case you haven't noticed guy, they aren't giving us a choice and are barely feeding us enough to survive! If you won't eat what they give you I sure as shit WILL!" Jay speared another slice of banana with his plastic fork but Colin grabbed it and shoved the food into his own mouth. "See?" Jay said, `that wasn't so hard, was it?"
"I HATE you right now, Jay Dover!" But Colin ate everything on his tray.
Some time later there was a mental message from their benefactor. {{The Interrogator is coming!}}
"Oh shit!" Jay yelped.
"What?" Colin asked just as the door opened to admit a tall, outlandishly-garbed man. He wore a hooded robe in bright scarlet with open sides that revealed a hard-muscled pale body that was completely hairless--at least the parts that weren't covered by thigh-high boots or elbow-length gloves in supple leather the same shade as the robe. His face was covered by a golden skull mask but cold, pale gray eyes could be seen beneath. Colin laughed. "Wow, Halloween came early this year! What are you, Sexy Red Death?"
"Shut UP Colin!" Jay growled.
"Indeed, shut up Colin!" The figured waved his hand and the handsome blond Merman went silent. "Much better!" the deep-voiced man said. "I've paralyzed your friend's vocal cords. For now, that's ALL I've done--but, rest assured gentlemen, I could do MUCH worse! You'll answer my questions without deception or you will know pain the likes of which you cannot imagine! Are we clear?"
"Yes Sir," Jay said meekly. He had decided to give an Oscar-worthy performance and his best chance of getting out of this in one piece was "fake it `til you make it"--and he was faking it with all he had!"
"I am Cullen the Interrogator and you will answer my questions!"
"Yes Sir!" Jay cast his eyes down, playing the submissive role to the hilt.
"What are your names?"
"I'm Benjamin Jay Dover Jr. and that's Colin Stanford Sir..."
"Grandson of Logan Stanford?" The blond merman nodded enthusiastically. "Oh my! The boss may have made a mistake bringing you in! Ah well--maybe we'll just kill you..."
"Please don't Sir!" Jay begged. "His family has lots of money! They'd pay you to give him back--I know they would..."
"Maybe we'll just have Jasmine mindwipe him..." the Interrogator said. "We don't need trouble with the Mer... You, on the other hand, I don't think your family could afford a ransom!"
"No Sir..." Jay lied, looking dejected. "My Dad works construction..."
"But there's something about you boy!" The man caressed Jay's face with his leather-gloved hand, sending fearful shudders through the boy's body. "What ARE you boy! TELL me!"
"Um--I think I'm what they call an Adapt..." Jay lied convincingly. "My body adapts to psychic abilities used against it!"
"Really?" A pulse went through his body and Jay felt as if every nerve had been dipped in acid; a few seconds later the pain subsided as the boy re-configured his nervous system to cut off access to the sensation. He sat up panting. "Let's try again, shall we?" This time Jay felt nothing. "Oh MY--this could prove MOST interesting--or at least amusing..." the Interrogator said. "I shall have to see what sort of tortures I can come up with to see how well you adapt!"
END CHAPTER SEVENTEEN