Trigger warning: This episode contains a depiction of an abduction.
Continued from yesterday:
Manny was livid. There were cops everywhere, he hadn’t felt this trapped since back in fucking jail - which he wasn’t going to again so help him God. If he left - which everything in his brain was suggesting he do *before* Kelly found out he’d been the one asking about Tolensky - he would never be able to get back in. Todd wasn’t here. And if Todd wasn’t here, he’d have to take the next best thing. Cartman, that stupid brat had just about ruined everything. Whatever his phobia was, Manny was going to give him a lot more to scream about. He’d liked all the flinching Kenny had been doing earlier, but not so much the screaming. Manny had to make it fast. Had to get Kenny *alone*. He was nestled within an entourage currently, which made Manny’s mood even more sour - how was he supposed to get to the little shit now? He’d thought Cartman had no friends? Had to be Adrien’s doing. Perhaps she knew Cartman would tell on her boyfriend under torture. That was it - she was keeping him far away from him to protect her man. In a way Manny admired loyalty like that. He also admired the way he imagined her neck might look after he throttled her with his bare hands.
That would have to be another day. Right now, she and her little pet Cartman were his only path towards Todd Tolensky. He didn’t have a photograph of his brother, but he could form a figure in his mind from memory. “I’ll get him back for you,” he whispered into his hands. A passerby might have thought he was praying. They would’ve had to have not seen the look in his eyes. “I swear, I’ll get him as good as he got you.”
+
Todd let Sara feed him and tried not to think too hard about how many people had seen his total freak-out. The ones gathered closest around him fortunately were the least likely to judge. Lance was being nice, but not too nice - he didn’t do the mother-hen thing and Todd would be more terrified if he started then. Pietro was nowhere. Todd wasn’t surprised, but he didn’t know what else to feel. Pietro had tried at least to *do* something once he realized something was wrong, but dammit, he had also been the one to take him to *Manny*. Not that he knew it was Manny… but still. It could have been worse. Manny really could have gotten to him alone - could have gotten him while Todd was still trying to be brave, thinking he could handle it on his own. It was one thing when you were in a hallway and you could call for help. Quite another when you were in the seat of Manny’s beat up truck and you knew if you weren’t quiet, things would only get a lot worse when you got home.
So in a twisted way, Todd should actually *thank* Pietro. Huh. Funny old world.
Sara pushed a re-filled undertow mug at him. Todd drank it gratefully and allowed her to stroke his hair. Kurt was glancing at him surreptitiously, but not pityingly. He knew better. Even Summers looked protective. Todd wasn’t sure how he felt about *that*. He let his thoughts waver on his earlier decision about telling someone before they retreated hastily back into comfortable nothing. Todd wanted to wait until nobody was looking. There was no way he could make a telephone call to the Professor with everyone holding their breath and *listening*. Best to wait until they got home. It would be allright once they got home.
~
Lunch ended, and Sara escorted Todd to the nurse’s office, where he was given a seat and an itchy blanket that possibly dated back to the Conquistadors. Mrs Ogg frowned at it, but once the situation was explained, she allowed Todd to stay under the name of ‘Kenny Cartman’ and the added benefit of no visitors, since he was in for a 'nervous disorder’.
Of course, it meant that he would be subjected to such thrilling tasks as helping Mrs Ogg fill out and stamp paperwork, clean out the sinks, and sort the new first-aid materials, but it was the best sanctuary the school had.
People could go missing from the office very easily. People could vanish from the library. Even the custodian took naps… but Mrs Ogg guarded her territory with the ferocity of a broody hen[1]. She’d only allow Todd out of her sight once in the custody of the person who bought him in, or his legal guardian - provided they had all forms of ID.
The renta-cop outside the office door was just icing on the cake.
_Whatever higher force is available,_ she thought to the sky, _I need some assistance. See us through this crisis safe, alive and whole? Thanks in advance._
Someone had left chocolates in her locker. Sweetheart chocolates with the legends changed to “U R Mine”. Fun.
Thus, when she entered Physics class, she shared out the 'stalker specials’ with her benchmates.
“Someone’s got a budget,” one observed. “This is high quality evidence.”
“Speaks of a boor with bucks,” said Sara. “I wonder if he also has the rest of the zoo?”
“He? How sexist of you. Women can also be stalkers.”
“Yes, but they tend to *eat* the chocolates.”
Only a few more hours until the end of the day. Something was coming. She could feel it.
+
Only a few more hours until he was at Bayville High. And, as usual, the traffic was being a jackass.
Sam Adrien sighed and fiddled with the radio. Almost there. Almost re-united with his daughter. Almost there for her, to save her from whatever Jaquelline had wrought.
“Mamaaaaaaa… Oooooooooooo…” Freddy Mercury sang. “Ah don’ wanna die….”
Sam flicked for another channel.
“…and she goes runnin’ for the shelter - of her little mother’s helper…”
Flick.
“…can’t you love me like I doooo.”
Sam growled and turned the radio off. Stupid radio.
Only a few more hours until he was there for her.
[1] And anyone who’s gone in against a bantam trying to hatch chicks will tell you - those fuckers are *vicious*.
~~
Todd was comfortable with menial tasks. He could fill out names and numbers, could easily sort things, and if Mrs. Ogg had told him to scour beneath the cabinets with bleach and a toothbrush he’d probably would’ve done it. Anything to keep moving and to keep his mind on something else. Todd was calmer while he worked, she noticed. Not shaking as much and even humming to himself while he inventoried supplies in the cabinet.
Occasionally, someone would walk by the nurse’s office and he’d freeze. Mrs. Ogg would always be first at the door. Duncan Matthews had shown up to beg aspirin for his bleeding hand which the nurse had bound right after lunch. He glared at Todd whenever the boy wasn’t looking. Todd hadn’t even glanced his way, still cataloguing bandaids. Not even when he snarled and Mrs. Ogg had turned around so fast that Duncan’s fake coughing fit became quite real.
“Do something about that cold you’re getting,” she iced, and sent him off with two painkillers. Todd smiled at her and glanced at the clock. A few more hours and Sara would come back for him. Until then, he felt almost safe. And there wasn’t even anyone staring at him because the nurse was *busy*. Manny had gone nowhere near the office with the cop around. And he would go nowhere near Sara, Todd felt sure of it. For the first time all day he could believe that things were going to be allright.
+
Manny couldn’t get to him now. But there would be a later. If not at school, then outside of it. The world out there was only as safe as you made it. He’d wait. He’d watch, and the minute the boy was alone, Cartman was his.
+
The rumor mill was doing something Pietro never thought it would - slowly driving him insane. The slow part may have been an exaggeration. It was in reality driving him insane rather fast. Pietro couldn’t stand it - these morons thought they knew it better than him and he’d *been* there!
“So he has, like, some imaginary girl stalker after him,” snorted a Trish. “As *if*. I can’t believe they actually called the cops for Todd Tolensky. It would do him a world of *good* to get laid."
"Dude, don’t you know? It’s not a girl stalker. Some *guy* is trying to stick him up the ass. I’d be freaked out too,” said one of her male friends, in a rare moment of thoughtfulness. He quickly nulled it in less than two seconds. “It’s all these homos running around. They know not to go after us cause we can whup their asses, so they go after the weaker kids."
Pietro snorted, feathers ruffled. "You don’t have to be gay to be a pedophile or a predator,” he snapped. “All you have to do is have absolutely no morals or sense of decency keeping you from going after what you like. Dude,” he stressed, to a jock who was boggling at him, “You read the paper about that guy in Arkansas who was a married man and ran an underground child slave industry? Married. To. A Woman. Not gay.”
They didn’t look convinced. “But he had to have been gay. He had boy slaves too."
"No. He didn’t touch any of them. He fed them, watered them, and sold them online. They were never people to him. They were never humans. That’s the whole mindset of a predator - you aren’t a human to them,” Pietro sighed, suddenly weary of the anti-gay sentiments flying around the room. Not that he was gay(1). But he knew he was filed in that category anyway, so he might as well enlighten some people on the subject if he could. “You’re prey - something to be toyed with before killed or worse. That’s what’s after Todd right now. It’s not someone who’s 'gay’. To be gay, you have to be human yourself first."
There was unexpected applause. His speech had drawn somewhat of a crowd. Pietro turned red, hoping to God that hadn’t been taken as an 'out of the closet’ act. "By the way, I’m straight *and* human!” he insisted quickly. “And free Friday night!” There was laughter, but it wasn’t mean.
(1)…is there anything I could possibly *say* other than – Denial!
~
The last bell. Time for action. Sara left her seat as if spring-loaded, out of the classroom and zooming down the halls towards the nurse’s office. They were free for the day! She felt as if she were full of sunshine. This was very close to the Something Big she’d been anticipating all day.
Sara felt like she could fly. She even leaped over the sidling foot of Tracy Argomel - purely by serendipity, as she’d shut her eyes to leap and yawp for the pleasure of it.
This was just like Christmas Eve. Like her birthday. Like Daddy-daughter day.
She even burst into a chorus of _Holiday_ by RatCat[1].
+
The last bell. Time for action. Manny left the staffroom and placed himself 'on guard’ by the school gates. If there was any place where an adult could walk off with a minor, this was it. He watched the fleeing throng, trying to pick up the too-tall girl and her perpetually nervous companion.
+
“…on a holiday, doompa doompa dooooommm…”
Todd grinned instantly. Only one person he knew could sing someone else’s voice, then regress to their own for the music effects. Sara was coming.
“…maybee just me and you. Set for adventure to the unknooooowwwn… Set a course for far awaaaayyyy… It won’t be long, untill Iiiii'mmmm theeeeeerrrrrre. Life here’s getting me doooooowwwwwn….” Sara showed her ID to Mrs Ogg. “Hello darling. Ready to blow this joint?”
“I am forever and a half ready to blow this joint, babe.”
She linked arms with him and began skipping. “Weeeeeeeeeeee'rrrrrrrrre *OFF* to empty lockeeerrrsss… and collect all of our homework… Because although the homework sucks, it will never pay for to shirk… Because if you will shirk homework, you’ll find that you become a jerk, who lives off minimum wage like a buuuuurrrrk… barappatta bappatta bum pa-rum!”
“Yo, what’s got into you?” Todd boggled. “You actin’ like yo’ drunk, yo.”
“I swear on my love of serendipity that I have not been experimenting with foreign substances.” Sara held up her hand in a boy-scout salute. “Unless you count stalker chocolate. Which I shared with three other guinea pigs.”
“Stalker *chocolate*?”
“Sweetheart chocolates with the legend altered to read 'U R mine’. Charmant.” She grinned. “They were pralines. Swiss pralines.”
“Oooooh… *kay*,” Todd drawled. “When we get you home, I’m'a gettin’ Hank to test yo’ fo’ drugs.”
“Okay,” she giggled. “See if he can scan for anti-viruses, too.”
“Anti-viruses?”
“You know, like the luck virus, or the sexual magnetism virus, or–”
“*Oh*, Red Dwarf. Gotcha.” He shook his head in amusement as he shut his locker and re-primed his 'security measures’.
“Love the spray-cream guillotine. Simple, *and* effective.”
“I tole you I was set.” He linked arms with her again and let her skip and sing to her locker. By the time she collected her things, he was catching some of her Happy.
“You don’t know nuthin’ that can make you feel like this?” he said, trotting to keep up with her merry skipping.
“Well, there *is* one thing, but it’s not taken orally,” she grinned. “It’s a person. The only person who’s ever made me feel like I was filled with gold and sunshine like this is–” Her gaze fell elsewhere. Her eyes opened in surprise and she took a deep breath. “*DADDY*!” She sprang forward, and his hand slipped from hers.
+
Sam Adrien grinned as he stopped humming _We’re Off to See the Wizard_ under his breath. There she was, apparently safe, whole and unharmed. _Thank you, God,_ he thought. And she was with a boy. Holding hands and skipping alongside him. Evidently happy and full of beans.
Then she saw him.
“*DADDY*!”
Now he was for it.
Sara was renowned amongst the Adriens for her entheusiastic greetings.
Sam braced himself and opened his arms. “Sara!”
Leap. Whump. Squish. He was suddenly wrapped in gleeful daughter. “You'rehere, you'rehere, you'rehere, you'rehere, you'rehere, you'rehere, you'rehere, you'rehere, you'rehere, you'rehere, you’re *here*!”
“I’m here,” he said, hugging her back. Her skin felt… different, somehow - but he didn’t care. She was okay. His feelings of dread at what could have happened to her evaporated like morning mist.
“I can’t believe it, you’re here!” Now she was bouncing up and down, arms still firmly around him. “I can’t believe it, you only come back in November, and it’s only half-past September.” She gasped. “You weren’t *fired* were you?”
“No, they heard what your Mom did and gave me leave to sort this whole thing out.”
“Omigosh, you gotta meet Todd.” Sara dragged him wholesale back inside the gate, looking for her friend. “Todd? To-odd!” Sara bounced on the balls of her feet, panic beginning to seep into her features. “*Todd*?” Sara let him go, seizing random passers-by. “Have you seen Todd Tolensky? Have you seen– Have you–” Sara started breathing fast. Her movements became flitting as she jinked through the crowd. “Has *anyone* seen Todd Tolensky? *TODD*?”
+
Manny took his one chance, smoothly creeping up on Cartman and seizing his shoulder. He leaned down near the boy’s ear. “Not *vun* sound, understand?” he said.
Cartman froze, managing the skeleton of a nod.
“Gut.” He tightened his grip on the kid’s collarbone. “You vill come with me,” he announced, “and you are not going to scream. You are not going to allow *anyvun* to know you do not vant to be near me.” A significant squeeze of his shoulder, until he could feel the bones creaking. “Especially if you like your bones *intact*. Do ve have an agreement?”
It didn’t matter whether he had an agreement or not. He’d already steered the boy away from the crowds and into the boot of his car.
He was frozen in fear.
“Very good,” said Manny, dropping his accent entirely. “I can see we’re going to get along *juuuuussssst* fine.” He closed the trunk, made sure it was locked, then stepped inside his car and drove away like it was any other day.
[1] Actual band, now believed defunct. They came out with some good tunes, tho’.
~~