Page 30 of Fortress
That had to be what Toby was looking for: the fine print that could bite them in the ass. The little details that, okay, maybe they should know about. But until Toby finished reading (much, much slower than his usual pace, andWhat the fuck could the ASC say that could be that goddamn important?) and said anything, these were going to be some long. Ass. Miles.
Tobias read each page slowly. The language was stilted, formal, and sometimes he reread a section multiple times to be sure that he understood. The paperwork for removing a freak from camp was pretty standard, as he’d seen it a couple times in Wednesday sessions with the Director. Not common, but there were provisions in place. Where applicable, someone had written neat notes in the margins for Jake’s specific situation. At one point, the document referenced an attached file for more information on “the supernatural,” but no file was attached.
Jake had initialed each page. At the very bottom of the last page was Jake’s messy scrawl, directly across from the Director’s steadier, distinct signature.
Tobias looked at those two names for a long time before folding the papers back into their envelope. He placed it into the glove compartment, on top of the title to the Eldorado that he’d glimpsed when Jake had asked him to find his spare sunglasses.Proof of ownership for Jake’s most beloved possessions, he couldn’t help but think. Jake wouldn’t agree,but it was hard to let the thought go, especially with the cold, precise ASC terms and conditions of his release into Jake’s custody echoing in his head (theDirector’swords; whether or not they’d been written by him, he had approved every word in that document, and Tobias had read every line in his voice).
Tobias turned to watch the landscape flash past his window—too quick to take in, like so much of the entire real world—like all of America had been.
He’d almost grown to believe that this was his, to share with Jake, forever. That it couldn’t be taken away. Distantly, he marveled at his own outward calm, hands resting in his lap, still breathing normally. That wouldn’t have been the case a few months ago. What had changed?
It wasn’t that he believed Jake invulnerable from the ASC. Jake was fast and smart and always took care to keep Tobias and himself safe, but there were somanyhunters in the ASC. And many of them were Dixons. They would never ever stop searching for them if they wanted Tobias back. If they knew Jake was beingirresponsiblewith him.
According to that contract, Jake was being pretty damned irresponsible. From giving him weaponry and education to permitting him to interact with reals (“care must be taken to avoid contact between the supernatural and civilian populations, both for the protection of the citizenry and the maintenance of the supernatural’s control”), Jake had been breaking the rules from day one.
But he understood, now as he wouldn’t have so long ago, why Jake hadn’t kept to the terms. Jake never could have abided by what the ASC had wanted, how they had expected him to treat Tobias. And as dangerous as it was—as certain as it was that, one day, they would find out that Jake had broken the rules—Tobias understood that Jake could not have acted any other way.
It would have been safer, yes, if Jake had bowed to the ASC’s demands. Maybe even the Tobias from four or five months ago would have preferred thatsafetyover the danger of disobedience.
But that kind of safety was nothing compared to what he and Jake had now. How Tobias had begun to understand that they could beequals. And more importantly, understand that the Jake that he’d grown to know and love would never compromise on his belief in Tobias as apersonor treat him as anything less.
Knowing that made the trade-off worth it. This amazing, beautiful ride might not last as long as it would have if Jake had stuck to the letter of the agreement, but Tobias wouldn’t choose the other way now.
When Tobias struggled back to consciousness, aware first of bright lights against his eyelids and voices in the background, he wondered blurrily if Jake was okay.Is he in the bathroom? What TV channel did he leave on, this isn’t Discovery...They weren’t in the motel they’d left; the mattress was different, the sheets werewrongin a way he couldn’t pin down through the heavy fog in his head and the stiff pressure over his collarbone and side.
It had to have been one hell of a hunt. Though the details were blurred, fading, that must be the reason for the pain that throbbed through his body. He tried to raise his hands to wipe at his gummed-up eyes, and they caught short, just a few inches from his sides.
No.Tobias’s eyes snapped open as he tried to sit up, but he couldn’t, this time stopped by a band across his chest.
No, no, no.
The voices had changed, were getting louder. They had seen him and were coming closer.
NO.
Tobias tried harder to yank his hands and body free. Not because he believed it was possible, but because he couldn’tnot, any more than a rat caught in a cage could stop throwing itself against the bars of the cage as it was placed in the furnace.
They had caught him.
He’d known, maybe he’d always known, but it had been clearer when he’d seen those papers, the ones that neatly laid out all the ways Jake had been too kind to him. Good as Jake was, as muchhopeas he had infused in Tobias’s soul, the ASC would never let a freak go.
Worse, fucking worse, maybe they had always had him, each fragmented memory of a life with Jake nothing but a hallucination brought on by head damage and blood loss. Maybe Jake had never come for him after all, because no freak would be worth it.
A sob wrenched through him, even as Tobias yanked and yanked and yanked on the restraints. Hell was being tied to a bed (though his legs weren’t spread, his skin was not yet aflame), not sure when the real pain would begin. Maybe this was Special Research already, only a prelude to the hell where all monsters went. Maybe it was just the infirmary. Maybe he was still asalvageablefreak.
Tobias knew he was making sharp, desperate noises, sounds that would only excite the guards and make the Director’s mouth tighten, but he couldn’t stop himself. He couldn’t hold down the panic,not here, not here not here again, please fuck I would rather die.
The world had gone white in panic. He didn’t know where they were, he couldn’t track motion, he couldn’t control himself, and when they touched him, grabbing his shoulder and arm, he screamed and kept screaming, unable to stop (useless, useless, just as useless to be still and silent, it was all the same), untilsomeone clamped a cloth over his mouth and jabbed a needle into his arm, and the world went black again.
The papers were exactly where Jake remembered, crammed into the glove box. With the plain manila envelope resting in his hands, Jake took five shaky breaths before he yanked out his phone and hit Roger’s number on speed dial. He shoved the other crap back into the glove box with one hand while it rang.
Roger picked up on the third ring. “Harper Salvage.”
“Hey, Roger.”
“Jake.” A heartbeat of a pause, and then, “What’s wrong?”
“Toby’s...” Jake swallowed, forcing back the truth that he didn’t fuckingknowhow Tobias was, not without getting a single update or being able to check on him for the past hour. “We’re in Arizona. At a hospital.”
