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The Divine Right of Kings	By : vinsmouse Category: G through L > Hardy Boys Series Views: 5917 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hardy Boys, not making any money, just cheap thrills.

Chapter List
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Chapter 50

Joe wearily sat down on the bed and reached for the notebook Alex had given him. He made a mark on the paper, another day gone making it a week since he had been taken from his family. During the past week Joe had searched the cabin, hoping to find something that would tell him where he was. There was nothing in any of the rooms or closets.

He had even checked the root cellar when Alex sent him down through the trapdoor to retrieve some canned vegetables. He had hoped to find another entrance in the cellar, of course there wasn’t anything. Joe should have expected that, Alex wouldn’t have sent him down had there been another way out and not knowing where he was an exit would have been useless to him.

The only room he hadn’t checked was Alex’s bedroom. He doubted there would be anything there either but it didn’t matter if a clue existed within that room. So far Alex hadn’t left the cabin, giving Joe no chance to search the man’s room. Joe had considered trying when the man was in the shower but afraid of what would happen if he were caught he decided not to risk it. When Alex emerged from the bathroom a scant ten minutes after entering it Joe was very glad he had decided against searching the bedroom; he would certainly have been caught.

The sound of footsteps caught his attention. With a sigh, Joe pulled back the covers and lay down, pulling the blanket over himself.

Alex smiled at the boy as he came into the room. He sat on the edge of the bed, smoothing back the hair from Joey’s forehead. “All ready for bed pet?”

“Yes Alex,” Joe quietly replied. He had learned quickly that failure to use Alex’s name would result in small punishments as the man took the failure as a sign of disrespect. It really was no different that calling him sir, though Joe guessed Alex meant for it to seem friendlier.

“Remembered to brush your teeth?”

Joe nodded. Alex asked these same questions every night, it was a strange routine that made him uncomfortable. “Alex will you ever let me go home?”

Alex sighed, it was the same question he heard every night. “You know the answer pet. This is your home now.”

“But it isn’t Alex.” Joe had been trying from the first to convince Alex to let him go. He knew the man, in his own bizarre way, wanted to protect him and if that protection hurt Joe, well that was just too bad. Still he couldn’t stop trying to convince his would be protector to return him to his family. He took hold of Alex’s hand, squeezing it gently. “I know you want to keep me safe Alex and I really do appreciate it but you can’t protect me forever.”

“I can.”

“By keeping me a prisoner?”

“It won’t always be this way pet,” Alex assured. “As soon as I can I’ll take you someplace where you can be allowed a bit more freedom.”

Joe’s eyes widened, this was new. “What do you mean? Where would we go?”

“I haven’t decided just yet but it will be far from here, a country without any treaties with the U.S. government.”

“Aanother country?” Joe stuttered. He hadn’t been expecting anything like this. He knew now if he couldn’t convince Alex to take him home he would have to run, even if he became lost in the woods. There was always the chance he would find some hikers or another occupied cabin. The point was there would be a chance but if Alex took him to another country, one that wasn’t friendly, he would never be able to get away.

“It’s the only way Joey,” Alex smiled. “I promise you pet, once we are somewhere they can’t take you from me I will allow you more freedom.”

“More freedom? I don’t want more freedom in some other country away from my family. I want to go home, that’s all I want and I won’t stop wanting it no matter where you take me or what you do.”

Alex felt cold. He hadn’t expected Joey to be thrilled but he hadn’t thought the boy would behave so defiantly. With a heavy heart he stood and began to remove his belt.

Joe jumped from the bed, backing away from Alex. “Please Alex, I’m sorry. Please don’t hurt me again, please,” he futilely begged.

“Avoidance will only make it worse pet,” Alex fairly warned the boy. “I will count to three by which time you will be lying facedown on the bed or suffer the consequences of your defiance.”

Joe wanted to run, but he knew he’d never make it out of the room. His legs felt like jelly as he made his way back to the bed, lying down as Alex was about to say three. He braced himself for the blows that were to come. Idly he wondered if the belt would fall on his back with the same force as they had back in June. Would Alex leave his shirt covered in blood again?

The first blow fell, striking Joe on his butt. Though it stung it wasn’t nearly as bad as the beatings he had received back in Bayport. In all Alex struck him ten times, leaving his skin red and stinging but there was no blood, for which Joe was grateful. He jumped when the belt crashed against the wall, flung there by Alex.

Hating the pain he had caused his Joey, Alex violently flung the belt aside and sunk to the floor next to the bed. “Please don’t make me do that again pet,” he whispered to the crying teen. Leaning over he placed a small kiss on the tear stained cheek. “I hate hurting you pet but I will have your obedience and respect, yes?”

Joe swallowed past the fear, “Yes Alex.”

Alex sighed, “Is it really so bad that I want to keep you safe?”

“No Alex but…”

“No more pet. You will accept your life.”

“But is it living Alex?” Joe risked the question.

“It won’t be as bad as you think pet, you’ll see.” He patted the boy on the back and stood up. “Sleep well Joey.”

Joe bit his lip, fighting to hold back his tears until he heard the door to Alex’s room close. With the click of the latch he allowed himself to give into fear and despair. He wasn’t sure how long he lay there but finally his supply of tears came to an end. Feeling less burdened, the tears somehow lifting a weight from him, he took a deep breath and began to consider his options. Letting Alex take him out of the country wasn’t one of them, the trouble was the only other option he could see was leaving the cabin and hoping he chose the right direction. Decision made he began to plan what he would need to take with him.

Joe wished he had someway to tell the time. Without a watch or clock he could only guess how much time had passed. It seemed like it had been a couple of hours but maybe less than an hour had gone by or maybe more time had elapsed and it was nearing dawn. Bracing himself Joe decided he would just have to hope he had chosen a good time for his escape.

He wished he had something other than pajamas to wear but Alex kept all of the clothes in his room, giving Joe a new pair of pajamas each day. Looking down at his feet he frowned at the sight of the slippers, the only footwear he had. Alex obviously thought he wouldn’t try to escape without real clothes and shoes. He’d been right too; up until the moment he had told Joe his plans. Knowing the man intended to take him out of the country he knew he couldn’t hope to convince Alex to release him. He’d just have to risk traveling through the woods wearing inadequate clothes. At least there was food in the kitchen he could take with him.

Quietly he eased the bedroom door open and tiptoed towards the kitchen. Not daring to turn on the lights Joe gathered food, matches and a can opener by the light of the moon seeping through the window. Placing his supplies in a small duffle bag he’d found in his closet Joe silently made for the front door. It was too dark to see much more than shadows and so the youngest Hardy failed to see the string along the bottom of the door. Had he seen it he would have known his plan was doomed to failure before it began.

The sound of cans rattling jerked Alex awake. Moving instinctively he ran into the front room and to the door in time to see Joey running towards the trees. He had known the boy might try to escape and so had made a habit of sleeping in his clothes with his shoes left by his bedroom door. It had been the work of seconds to slip his feet into the shoes as he opened the bedroom door. Prepared for pursuit it took him no time to chase the child into the woods, catching up to him in less than an eighth of a mile. Taller and wearing proper shoes the outcome of the pursuit had never been in any doubt Alex thought as he grabbed hold of his wayward boy. “Going somewhere pet?”

Joe struggled to break the hold as Alex all but dragged him back to the cabin.

“Stop it!” Alex shook the teen. “You’re only making it worse on yourself Joey.”

Defeated Joe stopped fighting, letting Alex lead him back to the cabin and inside. The light came on at the same moment Joe was shoved towards the couch. Half falling and half stumbling Joe came to rest in the center of the small sofa. Twisting around he stared up at Alex with fear-filled eyes.

“Give me your slippers.”

“What?”

“Your slippers pet, give them to me.” Alex nearly growled as the boy only sat staring up at him. Kneeling he grabbed first one foot and then the other, roughly removing the slippers. “Did you really think I wouldn’t have some sort of alarm set up?”

“I just want to go home.”

“That isn’t going to happen Joey,” Alex growled. “I’ll be keeping these in my room from now on,” he said, indicating the slippers. He didn’t think the boy would be foolish enough to try running again without any protection for his feet, especially now that he knew there was an alarm set up. “Do I need to lock you in your room pet to keep you from putting yourself in danger?”

“No Alex,” Joe mumbled. He knew he wouldn’t be able to escape from the cabin. He would just have to hope his dad found him before Alex took him out of the country. The only other chance he’d have would be escaping at the airport and somehow he suspected Alex would have a plan to prevent that.

Alex stared at the boy with hard eyes. He wanted to believe him but did he dare? He supposed he could afford to be a little generous. “Alright pet, I’ll give you one more chance. Try to run again and I’ll make sure you regret it.”

“Yes sir.”

“This doesn’t mean you won’t be punished for tonight. Just as I won’t allow anybody else to hurt you I won’t let you hurt yourself.”

Joe bit his lip. He wanted to point out Alex’s hypocrisy but his sense of self-preservation kicked in just in time. “I’m sorry Alex.”

Alex smiled, running his fingers through Joey’s hair. “I know this is difficult for you pet but you need to trust me to take care of you. I don’t like hurting you so let’s try something a little different, hmmm? You will remain in your room tomorrow, leaving only to use the bathroom and you will go the day without food. Run again and I won’t hesitate to whip you to within an inch of your life, no matter how it pains me. Do you understand pet?”

“Yes Alex.” Joe didn’t dare to argue. It wouldn’t be fun to go a whole day without eating but it was a thousand times better than the beating he’d been expecting.

“I think for tonight,” Alex continued, “I’ll have you sleep in my room. I know you won’t sneak out if you’re in my bed.” Tomorrow he would add a lock to Joey’s door to ensure he didn’t attempt another escape.

Joe felt his blood run cold. His captor had sworn he wasn’t like Red but what if that had been a lie? Was the escape attempt just an excuse to force him into…Joe shivered, he didn’t want to think about that. “I won’t try to run again Alex, I promise.”

“Don’t worry pet you’ll have your room back tomorrow,” Alex smiled. “But I must sleep too and I won’t if I’m worried about you trying to run again.” He stood up, pulling Joey to his feet. He had a feeling he knew what the child was worried about. It hurt him to think the boy didn’t trust his word, after all he had never lied to him, but he supposed he could understand. Well there was nothing like experience to dispel a person’s fears.

A lump of dread settled in his stomach as Joe found himself being led into Alex’s room. He didn’t want to be here, in this cabin and certainly not in Alex’s bed; unfortunately he didn’t have any real choice. Arguing would only get him into more trouble and with Alex already angry with him he didn’t dare risk angering him further.

The room looked a lot like his, surprising Joe. Somehow he had expected it to be more luxurious not the same plain austerity of the other bedroom. The ball of dread grew with each step closer to the bed until Joe could barely breathe for the pressure; still he let Alex pull him forward.

Alex lay down, pulling Joey with him. Stretching out he wrapped one arm around the boy, pulling him close while with the other he brought the blankets up over the two of them. “Sleep pet, nothing will happen I promise.”

Joe wasn’t sure how long he lay awake. His body was as tight as a bow string, anticipating a horror he couldn’t truly imagine. Joe was both surprised and relieved when nothing happened, just as Alex had promised. Eventually Joe drifted to sleep, not waking again until sunlight streamed through the window filling the room with light.

TBC...

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The Divine Right of Kings