Brandon nodded and wiped his eyes. He’d dreamed of this moment every day for the past four months. At the center he had told himself day in and day out that even if his uncle was too sick to come for him someone who worked for him would. Uncle Max was loaded and doted on him.

When transfer day came with no response he feared the worst. Had his uncle died and the Bureau bastards not said anything? After that the driving thought in his mind throughout all the humiliations and degradations was that sooner or later his late mother’s wealthy and very scary brother would show up to rescue him. Part of him had wanted to give up hope, just resign himself to seven years of serving Mr. Chastain in and out of bed. But he knew his uncle was still alive. The law said they had to tell him if a relative died. And he knew his uncle. The guy had once run into a burning gun store for someone he didn’t even know. If he was alive Max Krier would come for him. It was only a matter of time. And now here he was.

It took him a minute to find his voice. “I emailed you an’ I…I tried to…I….”

Brandon lost it then. The last several months had been pure Hell. First his beloved uncle had gotten sick and nearly died. Then his parents were murdered by that asshole drunk driver and he was sent to serve out their debt. Then Mr. Chastain had bought him, first at auction at FanTan and then again, after three dehumanizing days, for good. Three months of having to submit to the sexual attentions of a man older than his father had taken their toll on his psyche. And not just Chastain either. His owner had loaned him out to pretty much anyone in his social circle who expressed an interest. He broke down crying and all but hurled himself into his uncle’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

Max caught the boy easily. Even without his various gifts he could have done it. He had always been strong for his size and a burning rage enhanced it. He spent a couple minutes comforting his nephew and shedding his own share of tears.

“It’s ok now.” Max promised, patting Brandon’s back gently. “I’m here and I’m not going anywhere without you. They’re gonna hafta kill me to get rid of me.”

Brandon nodded. His dad hadn’t cared for Uncle Max. He’d called him shiftless and a bum and worse. But Brandon could never remember a single instance of his uncle failing to come through when the family needed him.

“I’m sorry Bran.” Max told him when they had both regained their composure. “I fucked up. I had your mom taking care of all my affairs while I was sick and didn’t have a fallback. I’ll never forgive myself for what you went through because of that. I just hope you can eventually forgive me.”

Before the boy could answer him, Max’s head whipped around. He had felt a very low-grade tingle at the back of his neck. A woman about his own age was coming up the sidewalk from the house next house down on the garage side of the Chastain place. She had brown hair and looked fit. She struck Max at first glance as the sort of woman who went to college seeking a husband, not an education.

“Excuse me.” She said as she approached. Brandon had straightened up and was standing beside Max at the sight of her.

“Oh shit!” he muttered. “Mrs. Carmody. Fucking busybody. Bet you anything she’s already called Mr. Chastain.”

“Relax.” Max said calmly. “I’ve got this.”

Max met the woman halfway. He smiled and held out his hand. He could be very charming when he wanted to be and most people tended to react instinctively to a smile and offered handshake.

“Hi there!” He said. “Max Krier, Brandon’s uncle! Nice to meet you!”

Mrs. Carmody shook his hand, a little put off. Whatever reaction she was expecting this clearly wasn’t it. “Brenda Carmody. A pleasure.”

She let go of Max’s hand turned to Brandon. “Brandon, I don’t think your master is going to be very pleased when he finds out you went behind his back and told this person where to find you!”

“And I don’t think Mr. Carmody will be very pleased when he finds out what you and Mr. Wallace from down the way have been getting up the last few months.” Max said coldly. He had been scanning the bitch in search of some hidden bit of dirt from the second he became aware of her. The handshake just kicked the door wide open.

Mrs. Carmody stared in shock at the announcement. Her mouth goldfished a couple times as Max went on. “Kinda doubt Mrs. Wallace would approve very much either. And what do you think your husband would say if he knew that so-called “heavy period” that laid you up so badly in April was really you recovering from getting rid of the bun Mr. Wallace put in your oven? How much did he donate to the pro-lifers last year?”

Mrs. Carmody was incandescent with embarrassment. “I.. you… you don’t have any…” she sputtered.

Max named several different dates, times and locations of liaisons between her and Mr. Wallace. That shut her up. “Now how about you go back home and leave me and my nephew to get caught up ok? You mind your business and I’ll do the same. Sound fair?”

Mrs. Carmody didn’t walk away then. She ran. Max gave the meddlesome witch a smile and a laugh as she fled. Behind him Brandon was grinning his head off.

After that they were left in peace. Max and Brandon sat on the porch chatting for a bit. Brandon explained that he couldn’t invite Max in and that he wasn’t even technically supposed to be having a conversation with him.

“Mr. Chastain said if you really cared about me you’d have come before I transferred out or sent someone. He said I’d be punished if I ever got in touch with you. And he never lets me have any money so I couldn’t even call you from a payphone or buy a pre-paid.”

Max nodded, taking it in. Mr. Chastain, he decided, needed his ass kicked. And not just for the sexual indignities he had subjected Brandon to.

“You leave him to me.” He said and nodded at his car, a rented Impala the same color as his one at home. “I’ve got a suitcase full of cash in the car with your name on it. If that doesn’t work…let’s just leave it at me not going anywhere without you.”
Brandon nodded. For the first time since his parents had died he wasn’t worried about what would happen next.

The conversation ended when, out of nowhere, Brandon screamed and jerked spasmodically. Max had been listening in on the boy’s thoughts as they chatted and the surge of pain hit him like a kick in the nuts. He knew exactly what it was; that damned chip the bastards put in the necks of all indentured servants was shocking him. He resisted the urge to reach out and just break the thing, ending his nephew’s pain literally with a thought. The problem was, that would be impossible to explain away as an unfortunate but natural occurrence and raise uncomfortable questions Max didn’t feel like answering.

Brandon scrambled inside and the screaming stopped almost immediately. The phone rang and he answered it. Max waited on the porch, eavesdropping. The conversation was about what he expected. Chastain had become aware of his presence-the nanny cams around the house had been responsible not Mrs. Carmody- and was not pleased. Brandon spent much of the conversation trying to explain, denying he had anything to do with his uncle’s being there. Chastain didn’t believe him at first and shocked him repeatedly. Max got progressively more and more pissed off. No matter how things went he might just have to give Owen Chastain a good smack.

Eventually Branson came out and handed Max the phone. “Hello?” he said.

“Mr. Krier,” Chastain said . “Owen Chastain, Brandon’s owner. I have to tell you, I don’t much appreciate my privacy being violated and my property….”

“And I don’t much appreciate watching my nephew get tortured for no good fucking reason!” Max interrupted.

“It wasn’t torture Mr. Krier, it was discipline. Brandon was told not the try and contact you and….”

“And he didn’t! I tracked you down on my own. Trust me, it wasn’t hard. So congratulations Mr. Chastain. You’ve just spent the last few minutes electrocuting an innocent kid over nothing!”

Owen didn’t respond to that right away. “If that really is the case then I’ll find a way to make it up to him. In any event, you’re not welcome at my home without me present Mr. Krier. I’ll give you and Brandon two minutes to say goodbye and then another thirty seconds for you to get in your car and start driving away. After that Brandon will be disciplined with his chip every ten seconds until you are off my street. Do we understand one another?”

Max seethed. The guy really was a slime. “Fine.” He said. “I’ll be back at six tonight. You and I have business to discuss.”

“You can come back when it’s convenient for…”

“Six. P. M.” Max informed him. “I’m giving the phone back to Brandon now. Before I do Mr. Chastain you might want to consider a couple things. First; I made a promise to my nephew that I wouldn’t leave this town without him. I’m going to keep it. Second; I have the resources to have ordered a snatch and grab on Brandon. I didn’t have to try and deal with you man to man but I believe in giving people a fair break whenever possible. Third; I have joint US/Australian citizenship and the Aussies don’t extradite runaway indents. Especially those under the guardianships of a national. You enjoy the rest of your day Mr. Chastain. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Max handed the phone back to his nephew then. They hugged and Max apologized for getting him into trouble. Brandon told him not to worry about it and said he’d see Max soon. Max couldn’t help but feel a glow of pride. Even after everything he’d been through the kid still had faith in him.