The Henhouse

Choice

Justin's fears, realized. Casper was tied to the chair by his wrists, and with a careful look Justin was sure he saw blood dotting his collar. Casper looked deadened, hollow, pale beyond belief. His eyes found the window. Then he straightened his back, opened his mouth... and started screaming.

It made him sound at least 5 years younger; the pitch was so high. Justin felt a lurch in his stomach, a pound in his heart. Ella gripped his hand tighter, but he hardly noticed.

Then he realized. Casper wasn't screaming- he was talking.

"Het-toldme,hetoldm-meevery-everything...." Words tripped over each other: "Ididn'tw-wantto-bel-believehimcauseIn-neededthemoney,In-neededitsomuchb-butIwaswrong,Iwaswrongand-andIshouldhavet-toldyou,I'ms-sosorry,I'm-I'msosorry-Justinplease--!"

Silence. Casper's mouth still moved, and the chair still wriggled, but Justin could only read his mouth and guess:

Help... save...

Sorry...

"I'm- ah, I'm hoping that's enough," Lucas said. They could now watch him fumble with a new microphone, affixing it to a blue polo shirt. His face was just as smug as Justin imagined.

"I figured you wouldn't want to listen to that all day. Now it's just us again."

Casper caught on, slowing down like an engine running out of steam. His eyes jumped from Lucas to the window and back, as his whole body rose and fell with his breathing.

"I know Peter was unimpressed with him earlier" - Lucas shrugged - "but Justin always seemed to have a soft spot for this guy. Maybe like the little brother you never had...?"

Justin started.

"What did you do to him?"

"What we had to."

Lucas looked down to his feet while clasping his hands together.

"You know," he continued slowly, "this is why I don't like giving people responsibilities. Because people are stupid." His eyes rolled upward. "Any guy with a laptop and half a brain comes along, and they spill everything. ...I had to know what Charlie found about us, what he told his baby brother... and where he was now."

He smirked.

"The kid didn't make it easy. But everything comes out. With time."

"That's why you brought him here."

"I mean, I didn't expect to use him as a pawn," Lucas explained. "That was a bonus. Then again, I wouldn't have needed him at all if you'd just gone with the plan-"

"And stayed oblivious," Ella murmured.

Lucas shrugged. "Well, they say ignorance is bliss...."

He strolled to Casper and placed his hands on the back of the chair. Casper flinched, hunching over as far as he could.

"I'll give you one choice," Lucas offered. His fingers tapped serenely on the top rail. "Speed things along. You cooperate- tests, samples- and you all go home-sweet-home afterwards, Casper here included. Or," - Lucas pouted – "he dies. And the rest of you still do what we want."

"You wouldn't hurt him," Jonah bluffed. "You wouldn't hurt any of us. You said it yourself. It's why we're not out cold already."

"Oh. Yeah." A smirk spread over Lucas's face like a cancer. "Because 'intrapersonal intelligence' is so valuable, right?"

Jonah's face fell as she looked to Justin. Casper blinked while Lucas took leisurely steps from the chair.

"You'd know better than anyone, wouldn't you, Jonah?" His smile grew bigger. "'Naturalistic?' That wouldn't sell well-"

"That won't work on all of us, you know."

"Well, sure," Lucas answered Justin, amused. His hands dug into pockets as he leaned on the back wall.

"I mean, Ivy and Peter have that game locked up. Even you're pretty useful." He paused.

"But then, you wouldn't let this kid die from your pride.... Right?"

Justin thought he could hear the distant ticking of a clock somewhere – or maybe it was a heartbeat. Maybe his own. Regardless, he felt time slip away with every pulse, corporeal as the fingers drumming on his thigh, the beads of sweat running down Casper's face....

Casper had started twitching every few seconds – eye, neck, leg, arm.

"If you're not going to do this just for- well, general Humanity," Lucas sighed, "then do it for him." He looked over to Casper. "He's been through a lot-"

"Thanks to you," Dany barked.

"Oh, so you'll help people when you get them into trouble in the first place?" Lucas sneered. His eyes were narrowing, the amusement in them leaving. "That sounds more like stuffing guilt than virtue...."

Justin scoffed. "Don't tell us about 'virtue-'"

"And what would YOU know about it?! Huh?"

Lucas smacked a fist to the window. Casper flinched hard, squeezing his eyes shut.

"I can't believe you," Lucas breathed, stepping away. "You all think you're so- so perfect. So entitled. That you're each such special little snowflakes... well, guess what?!" he roared. "You're not, and you never were. You're a snivelling pack of narcissists, hopped up on world boxing championships or Ivy League scholarships or whatever else you've happened to stumble across, and you have the audacity to think you earned every single thing that came your way.... And when the chance to help someone besides yourself comes along, you'd rather let someone DIE than give in to-!"

"STOP!" Justin yelled. Lucas obeyed, perhaps solely from surprise. Casper was shivering violently... eyes bulging, rocking gently back and forth in his chair. His hair, damp with sweat, was scattered over his brow; his face had turned eerie white. His breathing was irregular, and his hands were clasped tight enough around the chair's armrests that Justin wondered if the skin around his knuckles could rip straight open....

The ticking pulse returned as Justin's head whirled.

"We'll do it, okay?" he said to the floor slowly. "Whatever you need."

"Justin-?"

"Stop," he warned Ivy. His voice was low, tone finalizing. She didn't argue.

"About time," Lucas grumbled. He pinched at the microphone on his shirt and brought it to his lips.

"In."

Four guards filed into the room - weapons drawn.

"Just sit tight," Lucas called out. His voice wavered oddly, as though looking for its former playfulness. "This won't take long, I'm sure."

The guards assembled the scattered chairs of the room into a neat line, then gestured for the group to sit. They all obeyed, no sudden movements - even Jonah took her seat with caution, eyes glued to the nearest guard as she lowered herself into the chair.

Justin watched Casper squirm across the room- a protest seeming to rest on the tip of his tongue. The 4 guards drew syringes like daggers from obscure pockets, popping off the plastic casing from the needles.

Justin's mind felt like a computer running too slow. He looked down to his forearms, callouses still branding each elbow, and he wondered if he'd really miss another pint or so....

Then he looked to his right.

Peter – two seats down - stared straight ahead. His right forearm was already extended, its hand flexing in and out. His face was stony- jaw locked, eyes on fire. When Ivy turned from him to Justin with fear in her eyes, Justin knew they both saw what was coming.

The question was, what he would do....

The guards approached the first 4: Justin, Ivy, Peter, Ella. In unison, 4 syringes grazed 4 forearms, just prepared to pierce the skin-

Justin waited until he heard the first man hit the ground. Then he slapped his own guard's syringe out of a stunned, beefy hand, sending it flying through the air and clattering as it hit the floor.