[Ben should be stunned at how easily he slipped into a routine with Maria, but he's not. And he's comfortable, and rested, and actually happy, for the first time in two decades.
Hell, sometimes when he wolfs at night and creeps into her bedroom, he winds up on the foot of the bed instead of on the floor at the foot of the bed.]
[For a moment, Ben gets a comical faux-panicked look on his face.] Not low on booze! We'd better fix that right away. How will we have movie night with no alcohol?
Well. Let me do the washing-up and then I'll hit the package store. [Which is used to seeing him by now, thank Dad, and doesn't make any more noises about a werewolf on the premises. He's soon got the dishes squared away.]
Any particular kind of vodka you'd like? There's a drink I used to make that would get even me pretty buzzed I'd like to share with you. But it took vanilla and cherry vodka.
Ach, you know that I trust your judgment, Ben. Get what you like, and a fifth of the usual stuff for me as well, please.
["The usual stuff" is Ketel One, which she drinks on the rocks on days when the leg is worse than usual. Let it never be said she doesn't understand the medicinal value of all things.]
Yes, Ma'am. [He's soon got the dishes done, and he grabs her card on his way out the door.] Back in half an hour or so.
[And it's good to be able to do this for her, to not make her walk places and carry things and do work that her leg makes incredibly difficult. He remembers what it was like to be on a cane, and his leg was nowhere near as bad as Maria's. It's a tiny way he repays her for her kindness. Not that either of them is keeping score, but. It's important to him.]
[It's nice to have it done for her, she won't lie. The value of his companionship has far, far outstripped any physical assistance she might have been looking for when she bought him, but there are fewer days lately when her leg is at its worst, and she knows she has him to thank for that.
She's grateful for him every day, for a thousand different reasons.]
[The liquor store is two blocks away. People on the sidewalk give the branded werewolf in their midst a wide berth. If Ben notices, he doesn't react. He is on a mission for his Alpha, and he's going about it with single-minded purpose.
Which may be why he doesn't notice the black panel van that pulls up next to him.]
[Which is too bad for him, because the occupants of the van have practiced this, multiple times, and they're experts at it by now.
They slow to a crawl and fling the side door open, and one of them tosses a black burlap bag over Ben's head while another one reaches out and gives the collar a yank -- enough of one to trigger the failsafe switch designed to shock him if he tries to take it off.]
[Ben makes a strangled noise and hits the ground, convulsing and helpless. They pick him up and toss him into the van, where wolfsbane and zipties wait. The wolfsbane stops him from a defensive Change and sends more screaming agony jolting through his body, and zipties bind his wrists behind him and his knees and ankles together.
[And the van peels out with enough violent force to make the rotors in the engine squeal a little in protest. It's the kind of noise that turns heads in this neighborhood because it tends to accompany violence, the kind you had best find cover during, and a few people notice, in a fleeting way.
Whether anyone saw Ben vanish into the thing before that, though, is a different story.]
[Garrick scowls from his corner of the van. Or, well, maybe scowls is the wrong verb, given that his expression only just barely changes.
He doesn't really care much for the deprogramming business. It's awkward and messy and involves being in close proximity to way too many emotions. But it pays, and keeps him out of range of the government, and so here he is.]
[He sounds bored. Detached. Not even angry and certainly not impressed with Ben or his threats. He's just reading off the script; there are other people who do the actual convincing. Garrick is here to make sure someone is on hand who can tranq dart a running werewolf if it comes to that.]
Yeah, well, dressing them badly reflects poorly on them. Most people buy 'em as status symbols. "Look what I can afford." [And Ash is there as backup for Garrick. He doesn't particularly care about all this deprogramming shit either, but the LLF's money is green and that, he cares about greatly.]
Relax, dude, we're rescuing you. [Because if Ben is relaxed, that makes Ash's job easier.]
Hell, sometimes when he wolfs at night and creeps into her bedroom, he winds up on the foot of the bed instead of on the floor at the foot of the bed.]
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The thing clearly cannot be done, Volchok. It would be foolish of us to try.
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Any particular kind of vodka you'd like? There's a drink I used to make that would get even me pretty buzzed I'd like to share with you. But it took vanilla and cherry vodka.
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["The usual stuff" is Ketel One, which she drinks on the rocks on days when the leg is worse than usual. Let it never be said she doesn't understand the medicinal value of all things.]
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[And it's good to be able to do this for her, to not make her walk places and carry things and do work that her leg makes incredibly difficult. He remembers what it was like to be on a cane, and his leg was nowhere near as bad as Maria's. It's a tiny way he repays her for her kindness. Not that either of them is keeping score, but. It's important to him.]
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She's grateful for him every day, for a thousand different reasons.]
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Which may be why he doesn't notice the black panel van that pulls up next to him.]
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They slow to a crawl and fling the side door open, and one of them tosses a black burlap bag over Ben's head while another one reaches out and gives the collar a yank -- enough of one to trigger the failsafe switch designed to shock him if he tries to take it off.]
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"Go, go, go!"
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Whether anyone saw Ben vanish into the thing before that, though, is a different story.]
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He doesn't really care much for the deprogramming business. It's awkward and messy and involves being in close proximity to way too many emotions. But it pays, and keeps him out of range of the government, and so here he is.]
You'll find out.
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["You'd think someone with enough money to buy a werewolf would dress him better."]
Fuck you.
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[He sounds bored. Detached. Not even angry and certainly not impressed with Ben or his threats. He's just reading off the script; there are other people who do the actual convincing. Garrick is here to make sure someone is on hand who can tranq dart a running werewolf if it comes to that.]
He's just property as far as they're concerned.
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Relax, dude, we're rescuing you. [Because if Ben is relaxed, that makes Ash's job easier.]
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