Categories > Celebrities > Fall Out Boy > A Little Less 16 Candles... continued...
“Oh, how sweet!” Brendon laughed, his tone heavy with sarcasm, as he entered Andy’s cell, closing the door quietly behind him.
In front of him, curled up near the wall, a truly exhausted Andy was sleeping, for the most part, peacefully. The occasional twitch or eyelid flutter were the only indications that it was a restless sleep.
“You might be able to fight the younger members of the Coven, but you’re helpless against me. Trust me, I’ll break you, just as William wants. I’ll snap you like a twig!”
It was probably the sound of Brendon speaking, or it could have been that his words filtered directly into Andy’s sleeping mind, but it was at this moment he woke with a start. Jerking his head up, his eyes widened as he saw Brendon standing, once again, only a few feet away. Shaking off his sleepiness in an instant, Andy pushed himself to his feet and stood nervously with his back to the wall. After his earlier encounter with Brendon, and now alone, Andy couldn’t help but feel scared and at least able to admit it to himself.
“What do you want?” he asked, trying to sound braver than he felt.
Brendon smiled at the reaction, he could smell Andy’s fear and he liked it.
“William wants you as a slave, I don’t see you needing much convincing, do you?”
“I’ll never work for you!” Andy defiantly snapped in return.
“Really? Well, it looks as though he chose the right one after all,” Brendon gave a light shrug.
“Chose the right one? What do you mean?” Andy asked, confused by the reply.
“Haven’t you wondered yet why all four of you aren’t here?”
Andy frowned; he didn’t want to contemplate what Brendon was suggesting.
“Because Joe escaped you! It’s that simple!”
Brendon grinned arrogantly at the vampire hunter.
“Ah, but even you don’t really believe that do you? You do know you were led into a trap don’t you?”
Andy merely stared back, tight-lipped. He had already suspected as much, but now it had been confirmed. It seemed that they had used the same trick that the four hunters had themselves used on dozens of occasions. Two vampire groups fighting and tearing up the neighbourhood – they were the bait, as Andy himself had been in one of their own traps only a few nights before. The four hunters arrived only to find everyone scattered and the powerful and feared Dandies waiting for them. Yes, they had fallen for it and been lured into a trap – one from which they had failed to escape.
“You’re not saying very much,” Brendon mocked as he ran his fingers down the smooth line of his jacket’s lapel. “Don’t you even want to know how it was arranged?”
“Not really,” Andy scowled, suddenly feeling braver as Brendon tried to implicate his friend as being a traitor. “But you seem to like the sound of your own voice and like you said, I can’t really stop you can I?”
“Oh, Andy,” Brendon slapped a clenched fist to his chest. “You wound me!”
“I’d like to!” Andy spat in reply.
Catching Andy unawares, Brendon rushed forward slamming Andy against the wall, his right arm pressed against his neck. Andy’s brow creased with pain, his eyes shut as the vampire pushed harder, preventing him from breathing. Struggling uselessly against Brendon’s preternatural strength, Andy quickly used up all his air. As his knees went limp, Brendon released him and watched unsympathetically as he collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.
“We arranged for one of the more violent vampire groups to encroach on another’s territory. Naturally, the fights broke out almost immediately. Your runner caught it all on camera and obligingly relayed it back; until he was killed, of course.”
Brendon laughed at the pained expression on Andy’s face at the news, that, as yet, he hadn’t realised.
“So,” he continued, “all you saw were rival groups fighting and you all came charging in; white knights on your steeds, as we knew you would. But by the time you arrived, we were already there and those not in our employ had scattered. We arrived en masse, enough of us to split you up. Pete was always going to go after William, and he was dealt with. Patrick, ever the hero, risking his life to save three apparently human and terrified girls from vampire attacks. Ha! The fool had his back to them. Well…” Brendon grinned cruelly. “You saw how he looked, what they really were.”
“Yeah, and you got me through sheer force and numbers,” Andy scowled at the memory as he pushed himself to his feet once more.
“Yes,” Brendon replied ending in a smirk.
“But you didn’t get Joe!”
Brendon laughed outright the statement.
“Who exactly do you think led you into that trap?”
Andy’s expression darkened. “You did.”
“Well, thanks for the flattery, but of course I couldn’t do it without assistance. We needed someone on the inside, bringing you to us.”
“No,” Andy replied calmly and shaking his head. “You’re trying to suggest that Joe works for you. No, I don’t accept it, not for a moment.”
“Well, of course you don’t, it must be hard for you. But ask yourself this, has he done anything lately to arouse your suspicions?”
“No! He hasn’t!” Andy replied growing increasingly angry at the vampire’s suggestions.
“You use a sword to kill vampires, Patrick has his gadgets, have you never wondered why Joe only beats them into unconsciousness?”
“Joe uses Patrick’s gadgets too! You’re not gonna make me believe this, Brendon!”
“Is that so? Well, for instance, has any of your hunting equipment failed lately?” he asked slyly.
Brendon knew what the reply would be. During the hours he spent studying the equipment seized, before Spencer had interrupted him, he had noticed the recent repair on the Electro-Mesh device.
“How do you know about that?” Andy replied shakily. “And even if you do know, it doesn’t mean Joe did it. He was the one using it! It doesn’t make sense to rig something to fail and then use it yourself.”
Brendon forced a smirk, but inside he was cursing. With three of them using the equipment, the odds were on his side that it wouldn’t be Joe using it. Damn! It was just about salvageable, but what else could he use?
“That proves my point, Joe isn’t killing vampires, he’s helping them.”
“That’s pathetic!” Andy snapped in reply. “The gun jammed. I don’t know how you know, but that’s all it was.”
“I understand that you don’t want to believe,” he grinned menacingly, “but of course, there’re the drinks too’”
“Drinks?” Andy replied confused.
“Those foul concoctions that Patrick makes to weaken Pete’s bloodlust. They haven’t been quite so effectively lately. Have they?”
Andy paled; how could he possibly know that? At that moment, Brendon knew he had him. The seed of doubt was planted firmly and all it needed was encouragement to grow. Of course, to Brendon’s advantage, Andy was unaware that Father McLynn, now a vampire, had been supplying ordinary water rather than Holy Water for Pete’s blended drinks. The garlic still helped, but the effectiveness of the overall concoction was severely weakened.
“The Holy Water he used in them?” Brendon shook his head as he revelled in Andy’s uncertainty. “Joe replaced it with ordinary water. That’s why it wasn’t working. Now, you must realise that could only have come from someone very close to you all.”
Andy, confused and distressed at his words, was at a loss to think of a reply and Brendon’s arrogant grin didn’t help.
“I wish I could say that I’m sorry I’ve disillusioned you,” Brendon spoke with the smooth self-satisfaction of someone who knew he was about to deliver the final crushing blow to Andy’s spirit. “But Joe has been working for us for the last three months. I’m telling you this now, because it doesn’t matter any more. Very soon, Pete will be under William’s control, he will have killed Patrick and you, you will be a mindless slave.”
‘Brendon,’ Beckett’s voice was suddenly loud and urgent in the vampire’s mind. ‘A rescue attempt is in progress. Joe will soon be captured; I want him in the cell with Andy. Have you convinced him that he is their traitor?’
‘Yes, William,’ Brendon replied. ‘I believe so.’
‘Your belief, Brendon, is not enough. I want certainty!’
‘I’m sorry, William, I am certain.’
‘Good, complete your task, then you may rest.’
‘Thank you, William.’
“Oh, and before I forget,” Brendon smirked condescendingly, “Joe believes he is on his way here to receive his reward for delivering you to us. But, in fact, his only reward will be slavery, just like you.”
Turning without a further word, Brendon once again left Andy alone in the cell to brood over the possibility that Joe had betrayed them all. As much as he didn’t want to believe it, Brendon’s arguments and insinuations were overwhelmingly convincing.
*
Joe frowned deeply; he had expected this. Almost at the mansion, Joe and Andrea saw six guards coming towards them. Without a moment’s hesitation, Andrea switched on the taser and readied herself.
“I thought vampires couldn’t come out into daylight,” she queried.
“They’re not vampires,” Joe explained. “They’re human slaves under intense mind control. Try not to kill them.”
Andrea raised an eyebrow at such an obvious instruction before turning back ready to face them.
From his office, Beckett closed his eyes and visualised what was happening outside, he could see the pair, armed for a fight with vampires. The human guards would stand no chance against them. The corners of Beckett’s mouth turned up as he prepared himself to intervene. No one, not even Brendon, truly knew the extent of Beckett’s powers, but they were many and great. Concentrating hard, Beckett’s thoughts crept into Andrea’s mind. Totally unprepared for the insidious tactics at Beckett’s disposal, she unwittingly allowed him to take control. Her eyes glazed for a moment as she listened to his instructions.
“Get ready,” Joe barked. “I’ll take them on, you got my back!”
On hearing no reply, Joe turned his head to check that Andrea wasn’t scared, or at least too scared to react. As he stared, he knew something was wrong, but barely had time to register what it could be before she swung around and pushed the taser into his side. With a gasp of surprise, all sounds failed him as every muscle in his body simultaneously seized and shook. As Joe fell heavily to the ground unconscious, Andrea dropped the taser and, still under Beckett’s distant control, awaited the arrival of the guards. Beckett mouth spread into a cruel smile. Now he had all of them, his plan was almost complete. As a bonus, he had the girl, she would make a delightful addition to his collection of beautiful things.
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A/N - Still loving those reviews!! Thank you!!
In front of him, curled up near the wall, a truly exhausted Andy was sleeping, for the most part, peacefully. The occasional twitch or eyelid flutter were the only indications that it was a restless sleep.
“You might be able to fight the younger members of the Coven, but you’re helpless against me. Trust me, I’ll break you, just as William wants. I’ll snap you like a twig!”
It was probably the sound of Brendon speaking, or it could have been that his words filtered directly into Andy’s sleeping mind, but it was at this moment he woke with a start. Jerking his head up, his eyes widened as he saw Brendon standing, once again, only a few feet away. Shaking off his sleepiness in an instant, Andy pushed himself to his feet and stood nervously with his back to the wall. After his earlier encounter with Brendon, and now alone, Andy couldn’t help but feel scared and at least able to admit it to himself.
“What do you want?” he asked, trying to sound braver than he felt.
Brendon smiled at the reaction, he could smell Andy’s fear and he liked it.
“William wants you as a slave, I don’t see you needing much convincing, do you?”
“I’ll never work for you!” Andy defiantly snapped in return.
“Really? Well, it looks as though he chose the right one after all,” Brendon gave a light shrug.
“Chose the right one? What do you mean?” Andy asked, confused by the reply.
“Haven’t you wondered yet why all four of you aren’t here?”
Andy frowned; he didn’t want to contemplate what Brendon was suggesting.
“Because Joe escaped you! It’s that simple!”
Brendon grinned arrogantly at the vampire hunter.
“Ah, but even you don’t really believe that do you? You do know you were led into a trap don’t you?”
Andy merely stared back, tight-lipped. He had already suspected as much, but now it had been confirmed. It seemed that they had used the same trick that the four hunters had themselves used on dozens of occasions. Two vampire groups fighting and tearing up the neighbourhood – they were the bait, as Andy himself had been in one of their own traps only a few nights before. The four hunters arrived only to find everyone scattered and the powerful and feared Dandies waiting for them. Yes, they had fallen for it and been lured into a trap – one from which they had failed to escape.
“You’re not saying very much,” Brendon mocked as he ran his fingers down the smooth line of his jacket’s lapel. “Don’t you even want to know how it was arranged?”
“Not really,” Andy scowled, suddenly feeling braver as Brendon tried to implicate his friend as being a traitor. “But you seem to like the sound of your own voice and like you said, I can’t really stop you can I?”
“Oh, Andy,” Brendon slapped a clenched fist to his chest. “You wound me!”
“I’d like to!” Andy spat in reply.
Catching Andy unawares, Brendon rushed forward slamming Andy against the wall, his right arm pressed against his neck. Andy’s brow creased with pain, his eyes shut as the vampire pushed harder, preventing him from breathing. Struggling uselessly against Brendon’s preternatural strength, Andy quickly used up all his air. As his knees went limp, Brendon released him and watched unsympathetically as he collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.
“We arranged for one of the more violent vampire groups to encroach on another’s territory. Naturally, the fights broke out almost immediately. Your runner caught it all on camera and obligingly relayed it back; until he was killed, of course.”
Brendon laughed at the pained expression on Andy’s face at the news, that, as yet, he hadn’t realised.
“So,” he continued, “all you saw were rival groups fighting and you all came charging in; white knights on your steeds, as we knew you would. But by the time you arrived, we were already there and those not in our employ had scattered. We arrived en masse, enough of us to split you up. Pete was always going to go after William, and he was dealt with. Patrick, ever the hero, risking his life to save three apparently human and terrified girls from vampire attacks. Ha! The fool had his back to them. Well…” Brendon grinned cruelly. “You saw how he looked, what they really were.”
“Yeah, and you got me through sheer force and numbers,” Andy scowled at the memory as he pushed himself to his feet once more.
“Yes,” Brendon replied ending in a smirk.
“But you didn’t get Joe!”
Brendon laughed outright the statement.
“Who exactly do you think led you into that trap?”
Andy’s expression darkened. “You did.”
“Well, thanks for the flattery, but of course I couldn’t do it without assistance. We needed someone on the inside, bringing you to us.”
“No,” Andy replied calmly and shaking his head. “You’re trying to suggest that Joe works for you. No, I don’t accept it, not for a moment.”
“Well, of course you don’t, it must be hard for you. But ask yourself this, has he done anything lately to arouse your suspicions?”
“No! He hasn’t!” Andy replied growing increasingly angry at the vampire’s suggestions.
“You use a sword to kill vampires, Patrick has his gadgets, have you never wondered why Joe only beats them into unconsciousness?”
“Joe uses Patrick’s gadgets too! You’re not gonna make me believe this, Brendon!”
“Is that so? Well, for instance, has any of your hunting equipment failed lately?” he asked slyly.
Brendon knew what the reply would be. During the hours he spent studying the equipment seized, before Spencer had interrupted him, he had noticed the recent repair on the Electro-Mesh device.
“How do you know about that?” Andy replied shakily. “And even if you do know, it doesn’t mean Joe did it. He was the one using it! It doesn’t make sense to rig something to fail and then use it yourself.”
Brendon forced a smirk, but inside he was cursing. With three of them using the equipment, the odds were on his side that it wouldn’t be Joe using it. Damn! It was just about salvageable, but what else could he use?
“That proves my point, Joe isn’t killing vampires, he’s helping them.”
“That’s pathetic!” Andy snapped in reply. “The gun jammed. I don’t know how you know, but that’s all it was.”
“I understand that you don’t want to believe,” he grinned menacingly, “but of course, there’re the drinks too’”
“Drinks?” Andy replied confused.
“Those foul concoctions that Patrick makes to weaken Pete’s bloodlust. They haven’t been quite so effectively lately. Have they?”
Andy paled; how could he possibly know that? At that moment, Brendon knew he had him. The seed of doubt was planted firmly and all it needed was encouragement to grow. Of course, to Brendon’s advantage, Andy was unaware that Father McLynn, now a vampire, had been supplying ordinary water rather than Holy Water for Pete’s blended drinks. The garlic still helped, but the effectiveness of the overall concoction was severely weakened.
“The Holy Water he used in them?” Brendon shook his head as he revelled in Andy’s uncertainty. “Joe replaced it with ordinary water. That’s why it wasn’t working. Now, you must realise that could only have come from someone very close to you all.”
Andy, confused and distressed at his words, was at a loss to think of a reply and Brendon’s arrogant grin didn’t help.
“I wish I could say that I’m sorry I’ve disillusioned you,” Brendon spoke with the smooth self-satisfaction of someone who knew he was about to deliver the final crushing blow to Andy’s spirit. “But Joe has been working for us for the last three months. I’m telling you this now, because it doesn’t matter any more. Very soon, Pete will be under William’s control, he will have killed Patrick and you, you will be a mindless slave.”
‘Brendon,’ Beckett’s voice was suddenly loud and urgent in the vampire’s mind. ‘A rescue attempt is in progress. Joe will soon be captured; I want him in the cell with Andy. Have you convinced him that he is their traitor?’
‘Yes, William,’ Brendon replied. ‘I believe so.’
‘Your belief, Brendon, is not enough. I want certainty!’
‘I’m sorry, William, I am certain.’
‘Good, complete your task, then you may rest.’
‘Thank you, William.’
“Oh, and before I forget,” Brendon smirked condescendingly, “Joe believes he is on his way here to receive his reward for delivering you to us. But, in fact, his only reward will be slavery, just like you.”
Turning without a further word, Brendon once again left Andy alone in the cell to brood over the possibility that Joe had betrayed them all. As much as he didn’t want to believe it, Brendon’s arguments and insinuations were overwhelmingly convincing.
*
Joe frowned deeply; he had expected this. Almost at the mansion, Joe and Andrea saw six guards coming towards them. Without a moment’s hesitation, Andrea switched on the taser and readied herself.
“I thought vampires couldn’t come out into daylight,” she queried.
“They’re not vampires,” Joe explained. “They’re human slaves under intense mind control. Try not to kill them.”
Andrea raised an eyebrow at such an obvious instruction before turning back ready to face them.
From his office, Beckett closed his eyes and visualised what was happening outside, he could see the pair, armed for a fight with vampires. The human guards would stand no chance against them. The corners of Beckett’s mouth turned up as he prepared himself to intervene. No one, not even Brendon, truly knew the extent of Beckett’s powers, but they were many and great. Concentrating hard, Beckett’s thoughts crept into Andrea’s mind. Totally unprepared for the insidious tactics at Beckett’s disposal, she unwittingly allowed him to take control. Her eyes glazed for a moment as she listened to his instructions.
“Get ready,” Joe barked. “I’ll take them on, you got my back!”
On hearing no reply, Joe turned his head to check that Andrea wasn’t scared, or at least too scared to react. As he stared, he knew something was wrong, but barely had time to register what it could be before she swung around and pushed the taser into his side. With a gasp of surprise, all sounds failed him as every muscle in his body simultaneously seized and shook. As Joe fell heavily to the ground unconscious, Andrea dropped the taser and, still under Beckett’s distant control, awaited the arrival of the guards. Beckett mouth spread into a cruel smile. Now he had all of them, his plan was almost complete. As a bonus, he had the girl, she would make a delightful addition to his collection of beautiful things.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N - Still loving those reviews!! Thank you!!
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