Island Questions (Part 1)

Island Questions (Part 1)

OOC: Due to an error this thread had to be re-built in this format and reposted; Continuation of Family Ties Are Hardest To Break)

FRANK COLE
"No, put it over there," Frank, said to the man who was making final preparations on the room he was going to use to question Franco. "The man may have to be questioned, but I have promised to try and keep him alive. He will need somewhere comfortable to rest."

Frank had a job to do. He needed to get information from Franco Spellman, soon to be editor and chief of the Daily Prophet, on the location of files which his employer needed to read. Franco had just been through a heart operation to close a hole in his heart he had since he was a baby. The doctors had thought it was closed, but apparently, there was a second one they missed. The reporter had been operated on by Doctor Lance Kildare, and some very talented elves. The whole had been closed and through some elfin medications, after a short three weeks Franco looked like he had never had the heart problem. He was still a little weak, but not like he would have been if the Muggle hospital had gotten hold of him.

Cole had agreed to have Lance come along to the Island of Perdition, his own private island, for the questioning. He hoped he had made it clear to the young doctor he would only be able to interfer if death was imminent, otherwise he would not be allowed anywhere near Franco. He would be held in a separate part of the barracks, away from any sounds of pain he may hear. Cole was planning on letting him have one visit a day with Franco, for medical reasons, but he would be checking on any meds given. Nothing was going to be allowed to lessen the pain, only keep the man alive. Cole was hoping to not have to use too much pain, to get what he wanted, but he had always completed his jobs.

He turned slowly and surveyed the room. The whole room was made out of seamless metal measuring as a ten foot cube. There was a small window on one wall, which had a view of a gladded woods area for physiological effect. The window was too small to escape from. A door on the opposite wall completed the seamless effect, when it was closed, the only indication it was there was the small indent where the handle was. A metal table three-foot square sat in the middle of the room, with two metal straight back chairs. A paired down hospital bed sat against one wall, with the medical instruments, the doctor or even Cole could used, securely locked in a wall cabinet which was part of the wall near the top of the bed. There was a wash basin with only cold running water on the wall under the window. On the opposite wall of the bed, were manacles fastened to the wall; two at head level and two near the floor, which would force a man to be almost totally spread eagled on the wall, depending on the size of the man. A bright single bulbed light was caged in the middle of the ceiling.

Frank took a deep breath, and told the man everything was ready, they could bring in Franco starting him out in the chair. The man along with one other would remain, to subdue Franco if he decided to fight. The doctor had already been placed in a reasonably comfortable room at the other end of the large barracks building. Cole turned one of the chairs around putting the straight back up against the table. Then he straddled the seat and rested his arms on the top of the back of the chair.

The door had never fully closed when the man went to retrieve Franco who had been set in a chair not far away. All the occupants of the barracks had been told to keep their mouths shut, because Cole did not want anything said which might give their location away.

He heard some commotion outside the door and knew they were having a little trouble getting Franco to cooperate, but he decided not to interfere. He wanted to see how much fight the man still had in him. He was not disappointed when the two men were finally able to push Franco through the door. Frank had planned as much as he could with what psychological effects he could add. Like the grassy comfortable area outside the window, which would help to make Franco want to get out there. The room was cold steel and chilly. Cold made a mans temperament more relaxed and cold weaken his stamina. Franco was also dressed only in his boxer briefs and a t-shirt. His hands were bound behind him, there was a blindfold over his eyes and a ball-gag in his mouth. Franco did not like using the ball-gag, which was basically a round rubber ball which was stuffed into the person's mouth, and tied around his head with two straps which were attached to it, but again he was going for a powerless feeling with Franco.

The man was still weak and although he was struggling, some of the power behind the moves was lessened. He had to be supported, just to be able to walk. If the men let go of him he would probably fall to the floor. Finally, they were able to get him in the chair, which he had decided to vacate, so Cole motioned for him to be bound to the chair frame. Frank sat up straight, and motioned for the gag and blindfold to be removed.

Waiting for the man to acclimate to the light, which had been taken away from him for about six hours, Cole said, "Welcome, Franco to your new home for a while."

Franco looked around the extremely bright room. The light made his eyes hurt, causing him to repeatedly blink and force them to stay open. Finally focusing he looked around the room quickly and fought the shiver, not just from the air temperature, but also from the layout of the room. His eyes did not miss the maniacal on the wall behind Cole. The door was off to his right, a window off to his left with a small sink under it, and from the view, he got with his limited mobility of being able to turn his head a hospital bed of some sort was behind him. He took a deep breath and tried to sit up straighter. The bindings around him started to tighten with his movements, but when he had straightened his back, and stopped moving they went back to their original tightness. Frank Cole was sitting opposite him across the small table. The man looked smug, but was also studying him. "Where is Lance?"

Cole smiled, "That is an interesting first question, Franco. I would think you would like to know what is about to happen to you first. Maybe, just maybe, you will not need Lance's services." When he saw the determined look freeze on Franco's face, he added, "the doc is not far away, but he will not be joining us for a little while. Now can we get down to business?"

Franco tried to keep the determined look on his face. As long as he had something else to concentrate on other than why he was in this particular room, he could keep the sicking feeling deep in his stomach. His chest was tight, and the area around his heart hurt, but he was not going to give in quickly. "The answer is No, I am not getting those files nor am I telling you anything more. Now what have you done to Lance?"

Cole grabbed the back of the chair, leaned back and sighed, before sitting forward again, adding a smile and slight chuckle. "I see you want to get straight to our line of business. That is marvelous … the question now is what is going to have to happen to have you change your mind." Cole purposely did not answer Franco's question about the doctor. The medical man was his ace-in-the- hole with Franco. Cole was going to see how far he could push him with just that card. "So Franco, do you have any suggestions on what I need to say or do to get you to agree with me, that I need to have those files in the bank vault and in the locked safe in your office?"
Still fighting the nausea steadily building in his stomach, a feeling of lightheadedness accompanied by a headache was starting to add to his discomfort. "I said I am not getting them. Now what have you done with Lance? … Why don't you go get them?"

Frank just shook his head and said, "You are not going to make this quick and easy, my young wizard, are you?"

Cole closed his eyes for a moment, then stood up. Calmly he walked the wall behind him and stood between the maniacal on the wall. "I have been doing this longer than you have been out of school, Franco and I know a trap when I see it. I went to your office, and your employees were very nice."

Franco was able to put a brave face on because this was something he could concentrate on besides the needles on the table and the knife Cole was steadily sharpening. "I am not anybody at the Prophet's boss. I am going to decline the promotion." If it meant keeping information out of the hands of people like the fixer, he would go back to reporting on the Quidditch matches.
Cole continued to sharpen the knife but said, "That is one of the points we will be discussing during our little talk, Saint." Cole raised his eyebrows and saluted Franco with the point of the knife, because he was sure, Frank was going to be very surprised that he used the man's Caretaker code name.
Franco had been looking past Cole's head concentrating on the wall behind him, when part of the phrase Cole had used, hit home. "What do you mean were?" He was worried about the two people who he had given names up for at the Hogs Head.

At first, Cole could not understand what Franco was asking about, but after a moment it made sense, "All of your employees… future employees," Cole corrected himself, "are fine and will continue to be, in fact Franco, I have even let them know how they can get in contact with me if they need help with a story." Cole laughed knowing Franco would make the connection with the fact he was going to use the newspapers people for information on what they were working on.





"They answered all my questions, thinking I was a friend of yours who was worried about you. You seem to be a good boss. When I told them I had helped you out with past security problems, they were very forthcoming about all the locks you had put on things … it is not nice to but a blood-block on something and then tell me to get the information myself. I did not appreciate it." Cole reached up and batted the two top restraints, then walked back to the table and leaned on it with his hands flat. Leaning well across the table, he put his face near Franco's. "You and I are going to come to a quick understanding Franco Spellman"

Franco looked Cole square in the eyes and with anger in his voice said, "Yes, the understanding is you are getting nothing more from me Fixer."

Cole's temper was climbing, " … I am going to ask the questions and you are going to answer. You are then going to voluntarily go to the bank and get the files out and go to your office and bring me those files."

Cole walked back over to the table and reached in his pocket, pulling out three hypodermic needs and slammed them down on the table. "These will be used, eventually be for that purpose. When I get to them, you will be hoping I only use one at a time. I know what it feels like to he hooked on the serum in them and it is not fun to have to get off their effects." Franco started to panic. Cole had used the serum on him once before and he had lost control of his body. Cole continued "For now we will start slow though." Cole started to walk away, turning too long enough to say, "Lance is alright for the moment. He is actually more comfortable than you are or were…" Cole raised his hands, and the two men grabbed Franco and forced him to the wall where he was strung up facing out, a man now standing on either side of him. He then reached into his belt and pulled out a very thin knife and sharpening stone. Sitting on the edge of the table he casually started to sharpen the knife. Looking at Franco he said, "First question, who is your contact in the Ornaris family for information?"

Franco allowed a smile to curb the corners of his mouth and said, "Nobody."

Cole stopped sharpening the knife, laid it on the table and watched Franco's expression change from triumph to questioning when Cole did not take the bait right away. Crossing his arms across his chest he asked, "Ok, let me rephrase the question, where are all the places you get information about the Ornaris family?"

Franco's smile got a little broader. "Now that would be telling..." He was starting to think Cole was a push over. He seemed more worried about the people involved getting the information than the information itself. At this rate, he might never have to give up any information.

Cole looked down at the floor, smiling mainly to himself. He kept the smile on his face, as he slowly raised his eyes to the man hanging on the wall. Allowing his own smile to grow larger he said, "It is my impression you would like to keep me going at this all day, so I think, we will leave the Ornaris family a while and concentrate on the Caretakers. I know Arianna, Richard, you, Neo, Lance and Martin are part of the group. I know Seth Wright is the code writer, so what I need from you is how they contact each other quickly. There is a device I know so what is it?"

Franco's face brightened until Fixer asked about the contact device used by the Caretakers. At that moment, Franco's jaw dropped as he thought, “How does the man know we use owls only with our contacts and not with the main members? I just got to hope he did not find mine in my robes cause there is no way I revealing anything about those globes.”
Cole was paying close attention to the emotions moving across Franco's face. The man was frightened and trying to hid it, but the fear was to strong to mask completely. Cole knew wirh some more practice eventually Franco would be as good as his brother Marco at hiding his thoughts.

Franco returned the smile to his face as he was about to lie saying, “There is no...”

Cole held up his hand, "But before you give me the information, I have something else I need to do."

Cole mainly wanted to keep Franco off guard. Up until two days ago, the man had been kept in relative comfort so he could heal from the heart operation, and he had regular visits from Doctor Kildare. One of Cole's employed elves had informed him Franco was well enough to withstand strenuous questioning. Cole had ended the doctor's visits and moved the doctor to a room far from Franco. Franco had been kept in a small cell, with a comfortable bed, but no visitors except for one of the elves, who were told to not talk.

Franco inwardly cringed as he tried outwardly to make Cole believe that his last words did not affect him, thinking, “What else could this man have to do? Could Fixer already have my nephew Seth? If so where?” Trying to find out, Franco laughed as he said, “Go ahead Fixer and take all day if you want.” Jerking on the maniacal as he continued, “I think I can find something to keep me busy while you are gone.”

"Keep yourself busy anyway you like Franco, but remember you are not alone on this island." Cole knew Franco would think of his friends, he just wanted to press the point.

Cole motioned to the man to the right of Franco. When he came over, he whispered to him. The man nodded and left the room, closing the door securely behind him.

Franco got a little worried when Cole only had one of the guards leave and did not leave himself. Chuckling, The Saint said, “What Fixer...The other business not important enough for your personal attention? You have a lackey handle it?”

"He will be back, I promise. I forgot a few things when I joined you here," Cole said with a smile as he walked away from the table. "You are not my only business at the moment Franco, but you are my most important business. "So you just hang in there." Cole could not resist the pun to Franco shackled to the wall.

Walking over to the cabinet at the top of Franco's bed, he magically unlocked it. Reaching in he removed gauze, rubbing alcohol, a small vile of liquid and three empty syringes.

Saint watched Fixer open the cabinet. He could not see what was in it from where he hung on the wall, thinking “What is Fixer up to and why are the back of my hairs standing up?”

Franco closed and relocked the cabinet then returning to the table he slowly laid the items out on the table, looking up once to smile and wink at Franco's wide opened eyes.

Franco watched until he saw what Fixer laid out. Only two things made him inwardly cringe as he thought, “Just what is that liquid in that vial and is he planning on filling those syringes? Could that be the serum that he gave me at Hog's Head?” Franco intended to find out though he was terrified of the answer. Not at all liking the smile and wink from Frank Cole who seemed to be enjoying Franco's reaction, Saint tried to cover his terror by joking, “So that is what the serum looks like or does that vial contain your insulin?"

Cole walked around to the side of the table directly in front of Franco. He sat on the top of it, extending his legs out in front of him and holding on the edges with his hands for balance. Looking first over his shoulder at the things already on the table, he looked back at Franco and with a snicker and half smile said, "The bottle does not contain that serum, the one you experienced as Khalid's guest, but the three filled syringes there do. The bottle contains a liquid which I have not decided to use yet, because it has some rather nasty side effects." Cole cocked his head slightly, "We will see soon if it is necessary." Sitting back up straight and putting his arms across his chest.

At this point, the other guard returned with some equipment. The man had, a bullwhip, a Muggle cattle prod, more rope, some very large fish hooks a small wooden locked box and some towels. Cole motioned for him to lay them out on the table and return to his guard spot.

Franco's eyes watched as he saw the things the guard brought into the room and laid on the table. He tried desperately to keep his emotions in check as he realized thinking, “I am in for a lot of pain." Swallowing hard his eyes fastened on the wooden box and just what is in that locked box?”

Saint said quietly to himself, “I just hope that it is me those are used on.” Franco remembered what his smart mouth had cost his best friend Richard as he thought, “cause if it is not than Lance or if they already have my nephew, they are the only ones he could use.”

Lost in his thoughts, Franco finished in a whisper, “and just how long could I keep up the brave front knowing that?”

Cole had excellent hearing. Over the years as a mercenary he had taught himself to be very alert to the slightest whispers or noises. He could also read lips. At the moment though he was not willing to let Franco know he had heard him. Everything the man said to himself, gave Cole clues on what direction to go next. He had worked hard learning how to psychologically pull a man down. He did not like the use of pain, although he would use it if the need arose.


Moving to the back of the table Cole started to slowly examine the items on the table, his smile growing. He picked up the whip holding it up so Franco could get a really good look at it and asked, "Franco you remember this?" Cole cracked the whip coiled it back up and put it back on the table. Right on cue the first guard walked up to Cole and pretended to whisper in his ear.

Franco said boldly as he tried not to panic, “You know I do Fixer. What interests me is what is in the box? Another one of your toys?” Franco saw the whip extend and had to fight inwardly from the instinct to panic or flinch. He felt like a mouse caught and being toyed with by the cat before eaten. Saint was terrified and he knew that his eyes were probably showing it. He knew how dangerous Fixer was and if it was just himself that was at risk from the info being given, the reporter would have most likely have saved himself the pain he knew was coming.

As he remembered just what was at stake, Saint said to his captor, “I guess it is going to be a very long night as I still am not telling you anything.” He just had to keep reminding himself what was at stake if Khalid succeed thinking, “Several members of my family believe that young lady is worth dying for. I have never personally met her but how can I give in to save myself pain and still look myself in mirror?”

"You may be right on that point, Franco, but I promise you to do everything in my power to shorten the night for you." Cole nodded at Franco and told him with his eyes, that he did not care how long they talked.

Right on cue the first guard walked up to Cole and pretended to whisper in his ear. Cole pretended to question what the man said, then nodded. Cole pretended to question what the man said, then nodded. "It seems I am needed somewhere else for a few moments, Franco. You will of course wait here for me…" Cole gave a deep laugh as he walked out of the room signaling both guards to follow him.

Franco jerked on the maniacal as he said, “Take your time Fixer, though I might have a surprise for you when you get back? If I am even here, that is?”
Cole just waved his hand in reply as he exited the door. When he was in the hall and the door to the room was closed, Cole visibly relaxed. When he was questioning people, he kept himself alert; to make sure he did not miss a queue to the persons mind. Entering a small office across the hall from the room, Cole sat in the very comfortable office chair behind the very old antique desk. It was one of his treasures. The guards stayed by the door waiting for orders. Cole flicked a switch in a control box and a viewing screen emerged from a cabinet behind him. Turning he used the remote and the screen came alive, divided into four separate viewing areas. Only static showed on them at them moment.

Cole had gotten the idea of the camera, from his recently discovered father-in-law. A little fine tuning and the room where Franco hung on the wall came clearly into view. Cole leaned back in the chair and watched and listened to the wizard. It was certain Franco would give him something he could use in the questioning. While he had the control in his hand, he made another section come on, which showed Lance Kildare, pacing his room.

Franco was terrified that Cole would break him given enough time. So after Fixer left, Franco went to work on getting free as he said out loud, “The only way to be sure that I will not break is to either get help here or get out of here?”

Cole nodded. The man was going to try and escape. He had used regular Muggle manacles, to give Franco a fighting chance on getting loose. He wanted him to think he had some power over the situation. It was necessary to see what talents the young man had already. Franco was worried about breaking, which meant his confidence in himself was dropping. Cole could use this information.

It was time to implement another part of the breaking of Franco. Cole signaled one of the guards to get one of the other guards he had handpicked earlier. After a few moments the young man came in and stood at attention. Cole nodded and said, "At ease, Ben … we are ready for your part in our little questioning secession … can you do what I explained?" Ben had been purposely picked because his voice was very similar to Lance Kildare's. The young man nodded and waited for the signal. "Good, when I raise my hand I want you to scream as if you are being tortured. Cup your hands over your mouth, because I want it to sound muffled.

Cole looked back at the screen and held up his hand for Ben to be ready. Franco was lose. Cole made a mental note in the time it took. He was impressed. Just as Franco reached the door, Cole dropped his hand, and Ben let out a blood curdling scream, muffled by his hands. Cole watched the scream, and smiled. Franco had stopped in his tracks. Cole raised his hand and signaled Ben to do it again. Then he cupped his hands over his own mouth and yelled nonsense words to give Franco the opinion the person being tortured was being yelled at.

He had gotten himself freed and was headed for the door when he heard a scream. Shaking his head and leaning on the wall close to the door he realized that even if he got free of the room, “I would still have to find Lance and get us both out. That scream could have been Lance or even Seth. Whoever it is they are being tortured. Those screams have just guaranteed that Fixer won't have to worry about me escaping.”

Giving Ben the signal one more time, he watched the screen, while giving Ben a thumbs-up on his performance. Cole got up out of the chair, walked over to the young man, and shook his hand. "Thank you, Ben. You did very well today. I may need your services later, but until then you are off duty and can relax. Help yourself to the kitchen, and invite a couple of your friends." The young man snapped to attention and saluted, never losing the smile face. He left with a definite happy step. Franco had no alcoholic beverages on the island so they could only make themselves sick on deserts and such. Returning to his seat, he started watching the screen again.

After hearing more screams, Franco felt weak. As he sat down at the table saying softly, “If only I had my robes then this place would be swarming with Caretakers? As it is there is just me and Lance. If that is him screaming or even Seth?”

Cole listened to Franco's laments. He felt sorry for the young man, having to go through this but it was necessary. He would use everything in his power not to have to inflict too much pain, it was all he could do. The information would eventually save thousands but the reasons could not be put out there yet, because if it was known, it could cause thousands to die quickly.

Turning to the two guards he said, "Bring his robes to me." Franco had sent his elves and retrieved several items for Franco's home. One of the items was Franco's robes. When they had been retrieved the robes from the closet, Cole started to check the pockets. He found a small knife, and a small, two inch diameter round ball. There were small notes, which he would read later. Something in the robes were giving Franco hope, and that thing he had to find.

Lance was worried. Up until two days ago, he had been able to see Franco during the day. It had been a little over three weeks since he, an unconscious Franco and an Elf had Apparated to the hospital on Khalid Ornaris island, from the so called playroom of Khalid's. Franco had another hole in his heart. The first one had been discovered when he was very young, but no one had caught the second one. It had opened during the time of questioning by Khalid. Questioning which included pain and drugs.

With the help of two elves, Lance was able to operate on Franco. The regular nursing and medical staff, which consisted of humans had not been allowed anywhere near them. Lance could not use painkillers during the operation, because of the other drug Franco had been given, so one of the elves had kept Franco unconscious. The other one turned out to be a very competent assistant. Lance had learned, several tricks during the procedure, thanks to his elf assistant. Franco had also made a miraculous recovery. It had only taken three days to have him up and walking. He had some new herbs to show his friend Richard Greene that was if he got out of this alive.

After one week, Lance and Franco found themselves on another island. This one apparently belonged to Frank Cole, the Fixer. It was going to be up to Frank to get information Khalid wanted from Franco. During the first week after their arrival, Lance had been almost a constant companion of Franco. There was always at least one elf in the room with them at all times, but they could not have talked much anyway, because Franco was still too week, and kept heavily sedated until the end of this second week after the operation.

On the third week, Lance was only permitted to have Breakfast and Dinner with Franco, along with three one hour visits during the day. During the visits Lance examined him and continued some of the herbs, but started to take away most of the sedation. Lance had tried to put off the inevitable, by convincing the elf helpers, Lance was not doing as good as he thought. He had even scared Franco miserably a couple of times with his down play of the improvement to Franco's health. Lance was having a hard time by the end of the third week, keeping up the pretence though because Franco's color had returned, and he could not keep the man in bed.

On the first morning of the forth week, which had been two days ago, Lance had come to have breakfast with Franco, and found one of the elves, giving Franco a full body survey, by hold ing his hand about three inches above the man's body and starting at his head, worked his way to his feet. Lance remembered swallowing hard, because he had known the pretense had been discovered. Franco had no problems with the body check, because he had grown use to having one done at least twice a day, just not so through. The others by the elves had just been around his heart area.

The elf had walked up to Lance when he was done and nodded one time, then cocked his head, asking the non-verbal question, that Franco was well and completely healed. Lance had to agree. The elf had left and two hours later, three men came into the room, strapped Franco to the bed, and wheeled him out. Lance would never forget the look of horror on Franco's face as he left the room. Lance had not seen his patient and friend since.

During the last couple of days, Lance had been given all his meals, some books to read and found himself comfortably but securely held in a small bedroom. Two elves had brought him his food, but had never said a word. Lance knew he was being watched also because a small light would come on occasionally on the bottom of the large view screen on one of the walls.

Laying the items on his desk, he figured it was time to go back in. He had to do one thing first. Flicking a switch on the panel, he said, "Lance, how you doing? Thought you would like to know, Franco is still alive. If he is good and cooperates, you should get to see him again, in a few hours." Cole had to smile at the expression on the doctor's face.

Lance started to pace the room, trying to dispense with some of the nervous energy he had pent up. He knew Franco was being watched by the other medical elves, but he needed to see his patient himself. If Cole thought Franco was well, then he would eventually start the questioning. Lance had seen some of the methods Cole had used to ask questions; he had seen a man cut, and Franco had even been whipped with a bullwhip. He had seen drugs being given with as far as he knew, no idea of what the side effects would be. To him Cole was a cold blooded mercenary.

He jumped when he heard Cole's voice come from the bottom of the view screen. Turning toward it he said, "Where is Franco? What have you been doing to him? I want to see him now Cole, you hear me?"

Cole had settled back in his chair. He stretched out his hand and pushed another button, so Lance could see him also. "Hello, doc, miss me." He said with a chuckle. "Franco is fine at the moment. He is actually sitting in a chair waiting for me to return to my own personal playroom . Cole chuckled to himself when the saw the expression on Lance's face, as he remembered the room Khalid had called his playroom, which had been nothing more than a very expensively decorated torture room. One end of it looked like a sitting room and the other end had been filled with all types of restraints and pieces of equipment designed to pull information out of someone.

"As for seeing Franco, I am afraid that is impossible at the moment. I still have a few questions for him, and your medical assistance is not needed at the moment ."

Lance stood still and stared at the screen. It had taken all his persuasive abilities to talk Cole into letting him come along. Cole had sent a message for him, to explain his absence so no one was looking for him.

LANCE KILDARE
Cole looked at the Blackforest pendulum clock hanging on the wall across from his desk and added, "It is 7:30 at the moment. I will see if I can get you into him by 10:00 for at least a few minutes." Cole moved up closer to the screen, knowing his face had just gotten closer in the doctors screen. "Our agreement doctor is for you to keep him alive. You cannot give him any pain killers because of a certain serum he may be given."

Lance inwardly cringed. He had seen the effects of the use of the serum on Franco. The effects were not too bad on the man as far as forcing information out of him. The problem came with the fact, after only one shot, the body started to crave the herb. After two shots, your body had need of the liquid to stem off the pains of withdrawal. Three shots and it put it in the category of a full blown addiction.

(Cole) "..Also you will only be allowed to use Muggle medical instruments, hope you remember how." Cole sat back again in the chair. "Now Franco is getting anxious to see me, so I will have to go. Talk with you really soon."

This fact did not bother Lance. It was a hobby of his to do most of his medical work without the use of magic. He had found with Magic it was too easy to fall into the pit, where you were fixing the symptoms, but not the problem, which were causing the symptoms. He preferred to look a little deeper. Lance nodded at the statements Cole had made to acknowledge the agreement.

All too soon, Cole was shutting him out.

"Wait Cole, I need to see him, it…" but Lance never got to finish his thoughts. The screen went blank. Lance stared at the black screen for a long moment, then backed up and sat down hard on his bed. Without taking his eyes off the screen, he rubbed the back of his neck. Then he dropped his head into his hands and prayed his friend would be alright until he could see him.

Cole had waited to drop his screen until he could find out how Lance would take the break in communications. The doctor had taken it hard which was to be expected. Lance Kildare was one of those doctors who really cared and had empathy for his patients. Franco was not only his patient but his friend.

Cole finally flicked all of the switches to the off position and stood up. Walking around the desk he headed to the door and motioned for the two guards to follow. Cole stopped just outside the door and turned to the two guards, "When we get in there, hang him back up on the wall, then take a place on either side of him. I will be putting magical restraints on him this time. Let's see what we can accomplish in a couple of hours. When we are done, take him down and put him in the bed. Do not tie him down at the moment. If I change my mind on this, I will signal you. "

Reaching down he opened the door, walked in and stepped aside so the guards could get the Franco.

Franco had not even noticed when the door opened. By the time he realized that Fixer and the two guards were back, the guards had grabbed him. Instinct took over as he saw where they were taking him. At first his body went rigid as he tried to break free of the holds the men had. When that did not work, he let his body go limp, trying to get himself closer to the floor so he could use his legs to push away. These men were good. When he had gone limp his captors had momentarily relaxed their hold to try and support him, but they were faster than he was, because before he could get his legs under him, they had a vice grip on his arms and one of the guards had decided to try and hold him up by his hair. Franco continued to struggle but not as hard. It was a losing battle.

Cole noticed how stunned Franco looked as he was hoisted up and re-hung in the restraints on the wall. He had fought and used some good moves, but he had missed at least two opportunities to cause damage to his guards. Cole made a mental note of them, so maybe someday in the future he could get the information to Franco's brother, Neo, for future training possibilities. Cole took out his wand and added the magical spell, which would make the bindings inescapable from.

The next thing The Saint knew he was fastened back on the wall. Testing the binding, he realized they had a magical binding spell added to them. Looking at the Fixer with new understanding in his eyes, Franco said, "You wanted to see if I could escape Muggle binding? As well as how good my escape skills were. So you must have been watching from somewhere. Was that the real reason you tortured my friend? Was the Fixer worried that I would escape the room just as quickly?"

Cole walked over a little closer to the still struggling Franco and said, "You are quick, my friend. As to what I did outside of this room, that is none of your business. I will tell you thought the doctor is no worse off now than he was an hour ago. I have made every effort to give you a secure feeling while you are here. After all I would not want one of my men to kill you thinking you were trying to leave without permission." Cole raised his eyebrows, for a moment and added a very large smile.

Franco thought and remembered that Marco was known for making his enemies think one thing when he was really doing another. Smiling as he realized that Cole was very much like Marco. Franco wanted to make sure that Fixer had not hurt Lance so he asked, "You asked about the message devices. What would happen if I was to refuse to answer?"

"There are several possibilities which could take place," Cole said as he crossed his arms across his chest. "One, I could continue where I left off with my other visitor down the hall, making sure his experience mirrored my feelings toward your answer. Two, I could have one of your companions there," Cole motioned toward the guards, "beat the life out of you, which I will admit I am not ready to do, at this time. And three I could…" Cole paused as he walked over to the table, picked up the small vial of liquid and the largest of the three empty needles, and held them up to Franco.

Franco stared at the items in Cole's hands a moment then promptly fainted. Cole looked up at the ceiling then put the items down. Making his way over to the locked cabinet he worked the lock, reached in and took out a vial of smelling salts. Walking to Franco, he handed the salts to one of the guards and motioned toward the limp captive. "Here wake him up." Cole knew Franco had an aversion to needles but together with the stress of the whole situation and then seeing the needle, Franco's mind stopped.

Then he went to the side of the table across from Franco, pushed some of the items out of the way, turned the chair around and sat down on the edge of the table, putting his feet into the seat of the chair. Crossing his arms on his knees, he waited for Franco to come around. He stared at Franco, and said, "Now where were we, ah, yes the messaging device. What is it?"

Franco shook his head to un-fog his mind. Franco remembered that Leo was able to out-think most and now he wished that his brother were here. Getting a sly look on his face as he asked, "Just why do you want to know Fixer? The knowledge is useless to you." The Caretakers had made sure, when the globes were fashioned that each globe was tuned into the body chemistry of the person who owned it. Franco's would not work for any of the others in the group and theirs would not work for him.

"Feeling better," Cole asked, as the man's eyes came back into focus for him. "Let's just say I like to have small bits of information, and wanted to start you out on an easy question. Franco I know the messaging device is most likely set to your body chemistry. Your leaders would be very remiss if they had it any other way. So what is the device and where is yours?" Cole just needed him to answer one question, which would open the door a little wider for more answers. It would break down the first layer of the wall Franco had constructed.

Franco smiled as he realized just how to get the others to find him and Lance. Remembering when he accidently used Neo's by mistake, "All the globes acted like a tracking beacon. They went dark then Neo's made a pulsing signal until it was found by the master globe, which Air carries. If I can get Fixer to accidently use mine then, this island would be crawling with Caretakers."

Franco gave a look of defeat as he said, "My robe pocket. Just don't hurt Lance... It is in my robe."

Cole thought back to the items he had found in Franco's robe. The only item it the massager could be was the small two-inch diameter ball. "Interesting, something small and something which would not stand out." he thought to himself. Maybe later he would see if he could get it to work. Smiling he said out load, "I will make no promises. Franco, but you have bought some time for your friend. Now answering that question was not so hard was it? Let's try for another answer."

Reaching behind him, Cole picked up the cattle prod. The one he had picked was known as a picana . It would give out a very high voltage with low current, thus delivering a lot of pain and leaving no marks. Cole planned to stay away from Franco's heart area with it, but there were many sensitive areas on the body, below the heart. Pushing the button a few times on the device, to check to see it worked, he looked back in Franco's direction, to find the man's eyes glued to the device. With a sidelong glance, he also noticed the two guards were looking at the device and smiling. Cole shot both of them a menacing flat look and they immediately turned back to watching Franco.

"As you know from our little get together at the Hog's Head a few weeks ago, I know some of the Caretakers names and have been able to figure out their specialties. I am also in possession of a list of sorts with some other names on it. From some research a few of the name can be connected with specialties, such as Charitee Charms owns a small well run café in Diagon Alley, so since she had access to multiple suppliers I would venture a guess she is you procurement operative. It was also surprising how many of the higher ranking Ministry officials are in the group. How about if we start with codenames. There are five I think are important at this time… Arianna Sadaki, Brennan Dawson, Martin Kildare, Richard Greene and Seth Wright." Cole watched Franco's face as he pushed the button on the cattle prod one more time, causing an electrical sizzle to fill the air. First is Arianna Sadaki, what is her codename in the Caretaker Group?" Cole waited.

Franco smiled as he said, "The only reason I answered is because it is useless info to you. Have fun figuring out how to use it." He hoped that his words would have the desired effect and get Fixer to try to get it to work. Giving a sly grin as he thought, "And if you do Fixer, then that smile on your face won't remain long."

Franco heard the next question and shook his head as he whispered, "It is going to be a very long and painful night. That is info you would be able to use and so that is info I can't give." He swallowed hard, having difficulty taking his eyes off the cattle prod. As it came closer to his skin, he tried to prepare himself for the electrical jolt.
Cole had some hope he would not have to proceed, but not much. He handed the cattle prod to the guard at the right, and signaled for him to use it. Any guards who would be working with him as he questioned Franco, had been told about the man's heart operation and had been instructed to stay away from that area with any type of persuasion ['i]. The guard was trained in the makeup of the human body, so he slowly took the prod and advanced it toward Franco's right leg inner thigh. The slowness was done on purpose to get Franco to anticipate pain, which could not completely be planned on until it occurred.

As the picana, touched Franco's skin he stiffened and a grown was forced from his lips. The guard touched the thigh a second and a third time. Each time the grown from Franco got louder. Cole, signaled the man to stop. "Franco, we can keep this up for a long while. You will not be allowed to faint again, and there are worse places on your body to put the device. What is Arianna Sadiki's code name?"

Franco had felt as if his leg and nerves were on fire but held his ground saying with a sly grin, "Hey Fixer, that tickled! Why don't you ask her yourself? I am sure she would love to see you again." Franco was sure that Fixer like most had gotten the wrong idea about just how deadly Air could be. Smiling as he realized that was going to be Frank Cole's mistake if their leader ever got her hands on Fixer.

Cole did not say a word, just signaled to the guard again. Promptly the guard fired the cattle prod on Franco's leg three inches higher on the thigh, holding down the firing button for a longer period of time and not pulling the device away. At this intensity the device would burn the skin and could cause permanent nerve damage. After about five seconds, the prod was removed and the process was done to Franco's left thigh. Cole did not like hearing his victims scream but it was what happened when a man like Franco refused to cooperate. Both of Franco's legs were in full blown spasms. Before they could stop, Cole signaled the guard to touch the prod to the bottom of Franco's bare feet, but only for a moment. With a tight voice, Cole asked again. "What is Arianna Sadiki's code name?"

No matter how hard he concentrated, Franco could not keep his legs still. The spasms shook them as if they had no bones. There was two spots on his inner thighs which felt like the were on fire even with the device removed. Drawing on all the concentration he could gather Franco shook his head as he said, "I thought you already knew it, guess not. Our rules are clear, codenames are never given unless already known...Sorry, figure it out yourself." He had been sure that Arianna had been called Air a couple of times at Hog's Head.

Thinking back to their time at the Hog's Head, Cole finally nodded. He thought at the time, he had miss understood and thought he was not hearing her name correctly. Arianna Sadiki's codename was Air . Not very original but interesting. He knew the lady was in charge of the group, and she was a widow. She was also very beautiful, and Cole had thoughts of what it would be like to be around her all the time, maybe even take her out to dinner. She would be a nice arm full. Smiling at Franco, he said, "I have that one. Now how much pain are the others worth to you?" Cole signaled to the guard with the baton, and the man hit, Franco on the upper thigh and dragged it down his leg, making sure to hit the back of the knee, and ending on the bottom of his foot, where he stalled for a few seconds adding a burn to the instep of Franco's right foot. "We are making progress, Franco.. You chose the next person to give the codename for Saint."

Franco shook his head as he realized that Fixer was going to force him to give up his friends. The use of his own codename made Franco cringe as he said, "Fixer, I am not giving up my friends. Your goon can hit me with that prod all night and all you will do is insure you never get even one of my files. Or have you forgotten just how I have to be to get the ones in the bank vault?"
Saint was still trying to figure out why Khalid would want these as they were on the Seven and some photos he took at Hogwarts when they were going to school. "Those files were useless now as Marsden was dead, or were they?"

Cole had not moved from his position on the edge of the table. There was a definite determination in Franco's voice. "You have a point Franco, so…" Cole called the man on the right over and whispered in his ear. The man nodded smartly and left the room. Cole just sat and stared at Franco. After a few seconds the man returned, but stood by the door with it partially opened, and nodded, holding one hand slightly up in the air at the edge of the opening. Cole turned his full attention back to Franco, saying with a ruthless smile, "Give me another Codename of one of the people I mentioned before."

Franco was unsure of just what was about to happen but he knew that Fixer was up to something and from the body language Franco was seeing, the Saint knew that he was not going to be able to refuse for long. He just shook his head and said, "It is not going to happen Frank Cole. I won't endanger my friends by giving even one name."

"I am sorry to hear that Saint and so will someone else be." Cole never took his eyes away from Franco, as he raised and lowered his hand. The man standing at the door brought his hand down in a sharp slicing motion. The sounds of a beating immediately took place, with moans and yells plainly auditable coming from somewhere outside the door. Although the volunteer was still the one screaming, his pain was a little more real this time. For some very important considerations from Cole, the man had agreed to take some punches but build on the pain which he was receiving to magnify its effect. Cole raised his hand again and said, "Codenames for Brennan Dawson, Martin Kildare, Richard Greene and Seth Wright are?" and then waited.

Franco dropped his head as he realized Fixer's message as he heard the screams and his mind relived the pain that he had put Richard through only to have his own brother give up their nephew to save him. "Either way I am endangering my friends... cause Fixer's message is crystal clear. I either give up the code names or it will be Lance that pays. He gave me a group of names so just maybe..."

Franco was really itching to pay Fixer back and one day he would but right now all he could think of was that Lance was there because of him and that meant getting Lance out was his responsibility. With hatred in his eyes, Franco said, "Enough Fixer! You made your point... Either way I endanger at least one of my friends … Caretaker, Sherlock, Boss and Wallbreaker."

Cole smiled and signaled the guard at the door to close it. Looking pointedly at Franco he said in a calm voice, "I know that was hard Franco, but I have information I need from you and I will use what is available to me to get it." Taking his feet off of the seat of the chair, which he pushed out of the way, Cole stood up and walked the three feet to where Franco was suspended on the wall. "Oh and by the way, I know you did not give me the codenames in order, but that is all right, I was just told to get them by my client. It will be up to him to sort it out." Cole was not about to tell Franco, he was his own client in this job. Because of what Khalid wanted him to do, he was going to personally need the information.

Cole looked at his watch and said, "It looks like we still have an hour before you go to sleep Franco." He had purposely worded the statement to sound ominous to anyone listening. "Since you have already volunteered those codenames, I have five more I need then we an call it a night. Ready…" Cole smiled and glanced at the guard still standing by the closed door, wondering if Franco was going to continue to fight. Catching Franco's eyes he quietly said, "I need the codenames of Pippen English, since she seems to be Seth's new girlfriend; Alexia Freidman, Neo Spellman, your brother, Lucas Fairmont and the ever lovely Sasha McChey."

Franco saw where Cole had glanced and cringed at the names as he shook his head saying, "Leave them out of this Fixer. The ladies are just professors and if you think of touching a hair on Sasha, you'll will be in for a world of hurt and not just from Tarik! I will give you Neo's as he is already known at Shadow Lounge by it. It is Cooler!"

Cole said, "Thank you for Neo's codename, but I think I asked for all of them. I will worry about Tarik Sadiki and if he is involved, that pesky little elf at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shoppe, is probably involved. I know Tarik is not a Caretaker, at least not yet, because he cannot control his blood-magic, but I have recently had some experience along that line. Now once again please, codenames for Sasha, Alexia, Pippin, and Lucas are?" Cole looked toward the door and nodded. The guard promptly opened it and raised his hands. Cole looked back to Franco and raised his eyebrows, daring the man not to answer.

Franco knew that Fixer was again making him choose between Lance and those that he gave. Saint shook his head as he said, "You just don't get it Fixer, you touch Sasha and an elf is the least of your problems. Leave the ladies out of it as even Lance is not worth them."

"NO, oh and for your own personal information, the reason for the beating and the cutting this time is being fully attributed to you… there are no surprises for my victims." Cole raised and lowered his hand. The guard did the same and screams came from outside the door. Cole raised his hand again and dropped it. The chain reaction again produced anguish from somewhere outside the room. Cole picked up the small knife off the table, held it in his hand, raised his arm for the third time and started the drop…..

Franco shook his head as he said, "Fixer, you win but it is your funeral. Huntress, Governor, Raven, Auntie." Saint gave a sly smile as he said, "I was not joking when I said that you touch Sasha, you would have problems worst than Tarik and Darik. You touch her and Gabriel will bury you!"

"Thank you for the warning Franco." Cole signaled for the door to again be shut and looked at this watch. "I think it is about time to end our little session for the night. Walking over to the hidden cabinet in the wall, Cole unlocked it and motioned to the guards to bring all the items on the table. When one of the guards brought him the small wooden box, he sent it back to the table. The other items he stored in the enclosure. When they were safely secured, he pulled out two small towels, a Muggle medical bag, another small vial of liquid and a needled syringe. These items he carefully laid out on the table.

Franco laughed at first as he said, "I am glad to see you are taking my warning about Gab lightly. It will be fun watching you regret getting on his bad side and messing with his family is a death sentence Frank Cole." When Franco saw what was still on the table, his eyes betrayed him as he said in barely a whisper, "What now Fixer? Just what do you have in store for me now?"

Cole did not answer Franco. He signaled the guards to take the man down and strap his wrists to the side of the bed. It was time to bring Lance to take a look at Franco. Cole would have liked to keep the pretence of Lance being beaten up, but he had another idea how to get Franco to tell him things. Cole had also told Lance he would get to see Franco right about this time.

The guards worked fast. Franco decided to fight the move, but with the injuries he had taken with the cattle prod, Cole was not worried he would be able to get free. Terror was giving him extra strength though, so the guards were not having an easy time. Finally they got Franco on the bed and pulled his arms into place, where Cole added magical restraints. The larger of the two guards, motioned to Franco's legs and Cole shook his head no. Lance would have to take a look at the burn marks on the man's inner thighs and Cole wasn't sure if the doctor was going to need him to be able to move around.

Cole watched as Franco fought the bonds on the bed railings. "Relax Franco. Your night is ending in just a few minutes." Then he turned and double checked he had everything laid out on the table, touching each item. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Franco watching every small move. When he had his hand on the needle, Franco drew in a breath and panic entered his eyes.

Franco stared at the stuff still on the table as he said too weak to hide the terror in his voice, "Then why are they still there?" Franco hated needles and that vial of liquid scared him.

"We still have two things to happen before I bid you good night. It items on the table will help fulfill the first thing." The second thing concerned the small wooden box, but Cole held that explanation open.

Lance had about two and a half hours before he could even consider being able to see how Franco was doing. He was not worried about his heart, unless the stress got too bad, then complications could set in. There was no clock in his room, so it was going to be a long wait. Watching the bottom of the screen, the light would flicker every so often. If he had it figured out, they were checking on him every fifteen minutes. He settled in to watch for the time reminder, trying to keep the possibilities of what Cole was doing to Franco out of his mind.

Right on schedule the light went on and then a few seconds later the door opened. Two very large guards stood outside. One motioned for him to come out of the room. Lance had no choice, so he followed one of the guards down the hall occasionally looking behind him to make sure the other guard was following.

They walked down several hallways, through a maze of entry and exit halls. The building they were in was either quite large or they were taking him on a wild goose chase to confuse him.

Along one of the halls, Lance almost forced a stop. Coming down the other way was a young man, who had been badly beaten, supported by two others wearing the common uniform. All three wore the same beige sweet pants with matching short sleeve T-shirts. The one thing, which had stopped Lance from offering his services, was the fact all of them were smiling and laughing at some private joke. "There must have been some sort of fighting contest," Lance thought to himself as he was gently nudged on his way.

Two halls down from where they had crossed paths with the men, Lance was told to stop and the guards motioned for him to be very quiet.

Cole smiled and headed for the door, opened it and waved for someone to enter.

Soon a door, three quarters away down the hall opened and a hand came out and beckoned them closer. Lance was gently shoved into the open door, which closed behind him, blocking his guards from entering. His eyes took in the situation all at once. Cole was standing slightly behind and off to the side of him; he must have been the one to close the door. Franco was tied into a long bed, with his hands fastened to the side railings. One guard stood near the headboard at the top of the bed and another stood guard at the footboard. Franco looked like he was seeing a ghost. Lance slowly walked toward the bed.

Franco stared at Lance and realized Cole had tricked him into believing Lance had been tortured. Cole had made him give up his friends for nothing. Giving Fixer a knowing look as he said to Lance, "You okay Lance?"

As soon as Lance got to the bed, he started to examine Franco, while saying, "Sure am friend." His eyes caught sight of the items on the table in the middle of the room. Cole was going to stay true to his word. "Be right back, don't go anywhere," he added a smile hoping to lighten the atmosphere in the room in some way. Three steps took him to the table, where he examined what he was going to have to work with.

Cole walked up and said, "The doctor's bag is an exact duplicate of the one in your office. There is only cold water running in the sink over there," Cole motioned to the sink under the window with his thumb before continuing, "but if you need hot, let me know and I will have the guards get it for you." Cole picked up the small vial of liquid and glanced at Franco, saying to Lance, "He has not been given any of the serum yet so I will allow a small dose of pain killer for this rest period. He is going to need all his strength for our next session. Use it sparingly doc, because that is all you have to work with… He has two places on his inner thighs and one on the bottom of his right foot, which may need attention."

Lance was listening but working on the fact, Cole had an exact duplicate of his private doctors bag, which stayed locked in his office, unless it was in his hands. He was not going to get into a discussion at the moment though on how the duplicate was put together. Lance started through the standard check list of vitals. Then he started at the top of Franco's head and examined every square inch of the man. It had surprised him when he first started using the Muggle medical equipment how the items were very efficient for checking out the human body. They could not see below the skin, but if you knew what you were looking for on the skin, or what sounds constituted a difference in the normal body functions, then the tools of the Muggle medical trade were well fashioned.

Lance kept a smile on his face as he worked his way to Franco's thighs. There were two third degree burns on the inner right thigh and one on the inner left thigh. Gingerly he probed them. "Sorry," was the only thing he said when Franco winced and jerked trying to get away from the prying fingers. The bottom of his foot was not bad, a little cream and a few hours off his feet would work its own miracle there.

Walking back up to near Franco's head, Lance leaned on the side railings and said, "Your heart is doing fine, and I am going to give you something for the pain and possible infection, all right? The medicine is necessary." Lance looked at Cole and received a nod. Reaching into the bag, Lance pulled out the small vial of liquid and the syringe. Franco immediately started to fight his bonds.

Franco trusted Lance but Fixer was a different story. Fighting the bonds as he said to Lance, "We only have his word that it is pain killer Lance and after this last session, I trust Fixer's word as much as I trust Khalid. Which you know I don't."

Lance reached down and put his hand on Franco's shoulder. "Easy, Franco. Look at me. Concentrate on my voice. I know what is in the vials. It will kill some of the pain, help the healing and relax you just enough to go to sleep. It will be all right." Lance looked over to Cole and asked for reassurance with his eyes.

Cole looked at the ceiling. He knew Franco was going to need some sleep, because he was only going to give him a six-hour rest, but he was not even going to trust the doctor. "The only thing in the vile is a standard Muggle pain killer. Look …" Cole reached down, took the needle, filled it from the vial and jabbed it into his own arm. After a moment he began to feel a little light headed, but he had learned a long time ago how to keep going under worse conditions. His eyes met Franco's as he said, "Take the medicine Franco, you are going to need the rest."

Franco settled his head onto the pillow as he watched Cole give himself the shot. He hoped it stung as it was going out of the needle. Taking a deep breath he chuckled as he said, "Fixer, now that I know it was not Lance that I heard, tell me just whom did I give up those code names for?"

Cole had been looking at the doctor when Franco had asked him the question. Lance had flinched at the fact Franco had been made to give up codenames, but the man only paused for a second as he worked changing out the needle and refilling the syringe with another dose of the painkiller. Turning his eyes to Franco, he found the man trying to look at him and simultaneously watch the doctor. "Actually Franco it was one of my own men who pretended to be tortured. You my friend were soundly tricked." Cole hoped it was a lesson the man remembered. It would be a part of him now, another piece in his training.

Franco turned his eyes toward the ceiling. He wondered if any of his brothers would have fallen for the same trick. If he got out of this alive, no when he got out of this alive he corrected himself, and his brothers found out what happened, they were going to be all over him and in his face with lecture after lecture. With the way things were going now though, Franco looked at those tough lectures as something to look forward too. He turned back to Fixer and with venom in his voice, Saint said, "I have no intention of falling for that trick ever again Frank Cole so I hope you like going back to your master empty handed." He only received a smile and thumbs up from Cole, which made no sense.

Looking at Lance for some type of understanding on what he had done, he hoped his mixing up the code names would lessen the damage. Without taking his eyes off the now prepared hypo Franco said to Cole with worry he was unable to keep out of the tone of his voice, "At least you will have to figure out just which code name goes to which member." Franco noticed Lance barely nod and the start of a smile turn up the corner of his mouth. He had gotten his understanding and congratulations on thinking under pressure. Still looking at Lance as he came closer with the hype, Franco asked in a choked voice, "Can't it be pill form Lance?"

"Sorry friend, there are no pills available. Try turning your head and looking at the wall Frankie. I will be as quick as I can, but you need this and if I have to have our two friends here," Lance motioned to the two guards with his head, "hold you down, I will." He had tried to use the nickname Franco's brothers used with him to take his thoughts off the needle. Lance knew from experience Franco was deathly afraid of needles, which happened a lot, when he was using Muggle medicine practices. It was strange how a small hallow piece of metal could cause such panic. Lance watched as Franco took a deep breath and held it, turning his head to the wall. He pinched a piece of the skin on Franco's arm and gave him the shot. He knew it stung but there was nothing he could do about that. Stepping back a little, he rubbed the place he had just punctured to spread the medicine more quickly and said, "Done Franco, breath…."

Franco smiled as he realized that it had not hurt as much as some of the other shots and blood draws he had to have over the years at the Muggle hospitals he had went to as a small boy. Turning over to look at Lance he said, "It hurt a lot more when I was admitted to that Muggle Hospital when mom was transferred years ago to Iraq. Maybe one day I will be able to forget that experience, right Lance?"

Lance knew Franco's mother had been a freelance photo journalist and loved to travel. The quintuplets had always gone along with her, being homeschooled for most of their lives. Along with the inoculations all the children would have had to endure, Franco had always had a weak heart. It probably would have not been so bad, if they had known years ago, a small hole had been missed in one of the chambers. "Franco you never want to forget experiences, but use them to grow. Because of what happened to you, it has made you what you are today."

Franco cringed as he thought of Lance's words. Those trips were fun for the most part and Franco's love for being an investigative reporter had come from watching his mother. Looking at Lance as he said, "Some of it was fun but one of those trips got mom killed. Lance, it is why I never went into the same field as mom but chose investigating instead. I still have them you know, all of them. One day, I will..."
Lance stopped Franco's reminiscing about the past by pinching his arm as if he was still checking him. He was about to give up information the Caretakers were helping him look into. He was not sure what the Fixer was looking for exactly, but giving information indiscriminately was not going to help anyone.

Franco was interrupted before he told Lance about his personal hunt into just which of his mother's stories had gotten her killed. He knew that Marco knew something as their father had found Marco and Kat in dad's security room and the monitor showing where mom was found on but the tape missing.

Cole's mind went to one of the tapes he had in his possession. Marco had given it to him with the promise from Cole that his sister Kat, who was named after her murdered mother, would never be questioned. Cole had made the promise knowing eventually it would squeeze his ability to get information almost to the breaking point. It was a matter of honor though, and he would not go back on the promise. Kat's son, Charlie was also off limits, at least until the young boy had grown into manhood and had some training under his belt. Charlie showed great promise in being able to eventually equal his Uncles in fighting abilities.

Cole had watched the tape and felt sorry for the girl. She had been in the room when, four men had come in and using magic had killed her mother. They knew Kat and Marco were there, but they never harmed the children. The Wizards had all worn masks and even gloves. It had been a hit, silencing their mother for what she knew. Marco had told him others were looking into the killing, and that Kat had totally blocked it out of her conscious mind. Marco had hoped Cole might come up with some clues, if he knew what had happened and could see the scene. So far, nothing had become known. Franco had figured it was the Seven Organization, which was now defunct; who had called the hit, but nothing was for sure.

Cole listened and was gaining respect for the doctor as they went along but he had to let Franco get some sleep. The next group of questions was going to be hard to draw out of the man, and he had to also come up with a way, to get Franco to voluntarily take him to his office and get the files from there so they could be checked for information. He had to get Franco also to take him to the bank and get whatever files were there. Cole wished he could tell the Wizard he was planning to return the files, after he read them, but now was not the time for that. Cole signaled to the guards who promptly, took places on either side of Lance and took his arms in firm holds. "Time for you to leave Doc. Franco needs his rest." Lance's reaction to this statement was normal, the man started to fight the hold on his arms. "No Doctor, do not fight. If you want to be able to come back soon, you will not fight my directives. Franco is going to need you tomorrow and I would not want to have to keep you away." Cole looked at Lance and made it clear with the expression on his face he was not going to change his mind.

Lance made one last effort to be lose, than stopped fighting. Cole had something else planned for his friend, and he wanted to make sure he was going to let him be available to help Franco with any adverse effects.

Franco looked from Lance to the guards finally to Fixer as he fought his bonds to try to help his friend saying, "Where are they taking him? Tell them to let him go."
Cole walked over so he would be in direct sight of Franco. "Doc," Cole was purposely giving what he had deduced as Lance's Caretaker codename to catch Franco off guard, "is being returned to his quarters. When I think you need him again and if you are forthcoming about the rest of the information, I need then he will be allowed to return. At the moment he is only here with you because I need you alive for more than getting the files, so do not push, Franco."

Lance looked back once as he was being taken out the door. He was not sure in what condition he would find his friend in when he was allowed to return. Giving Franco a wink of encouragement, he allowed himself to be lead back to his room. Before the door was closed he said loudly, "Remember what you said Cole, I am here to keep him alive." The door slammed shut.

As the door locked, Franco started to fight the bonds to get free. Saint said to the man with the infuriating smile, "These might be magical bonds but they are still escape-able Fixer and when I get lose, your goons are going to regret touching Lance." He thought back to the only time he had escaped from magical restraints. It had taken him two days to figure it out but Franco loved puzzles. If Fixer used Devil's Snare then light would be the answer. He needed a mirror though or something that would reflect the light. Saint realized that he had only minutes to figure out this puzzle.

Cole watched the struggling and just waited until Franco gave up and stopped. Rubbing his chin, he had an idea. "Franco, care to make a little bet?" One of the things Cole knew about Franco was he loved to bet on his abilities, he was still young and cocky enough to think he knew exactly how things would always come out. He also knew from Marco that Franco always paid his betting debts.

Franco stopped fighting the bonds when he heard Fixer ask about a bet. Smiling as he answered, "What kind of bet?" Saint continued to smile as he remembered the only bets he ever lost were to his brother Marco and that had been all right as they mainly betted on chores or training as the wins. He frowned as he remembered the training that Neo had not been able to stop because Franco reminded him that he always paid his debts. The smile returned when he thought of the only bet Marco lost that got Franco out of chores and training for a whole year. It had been taken two days but Franco had gotten loose form Marco training cell and restraints.

Cole leaned on the side bar of the bed, and made sure Franco could see his eyes. "We are about to take a break, not a very long one, but time enough for you to get some rest." Cole knew with what he had planned, Franco was going to get no rest, but that was part of his whole plan…a tired Franco, meant a Franco who would give up information easier. "If you can get loose before I come back later, then I will let you and Doc go, no more questions asked. I will have the two of you Apparated to St. Mungo's. Now since I am possibly giving up a very large sum of money and possibly bring a lot of anger on my head, I need to know what you would be willing to give as your part of the bet." Cole waited. He was betting Franco would fall for the trap.

Franco smiled as he said, "Can I get one thing to help me with this puzzle?" Surveying the room he found the spot on the metal plate to reflect the light from the only light source.
Pointing to the spot in the corner that he chose, "I just need a mirror or metal plate placed there with a remote control to angle it. As for my part, I will take you to get my files from both my office and my vault at the bank. Sweet enough for you to risk Your master's wrath?"

Cole looked down at the bed covers, trying to figure out what Franco was planning. He looked at the spot Franco had pointed to and then back to the man in the bed. "First point, Franco. I have an employer, not a Master. It is thoroughly understood, by anyone paying me for a job, I can walk away at any time, with no repercussions. This job is just a little more personal than most. I want you to add one thing, because I am not only giving up present employment and possible future employment with this client and anyone else he talks along with part of my reputation. I want to be able to pick through the vaults for anything I can use as information, including any keys which they may contain… Agree to this and I will set up your mirror, where and how you want."

Franco smiled as he felt the pain killer kick in. He had already figured most of the puzzle out so there was no harm he saw upping the ante. With a sly grin on his face Saint said, "Okay Fixer, you got a bet and I will even do it with you here."

"We are greed then. You get loose before our next talk and you and Lance leave no questions asked. You do not get loose before our next talk and you will take me with you to your office to retrieve the files and any keys plus, allow me to check the vault out… you will also take me with you to your bank vault and let me go through it for information and keys." Franco nodded. Cole hated to do this to Franco, but the man needed to start thinking about what could go wrong and cover his backside. He had left himself no escape clause.

Cole had the guards collect the needed materials, and within a half hour they had a contraption set up to Franco's specifications. They even allowed Franco to test the swinging mirror. Cole took the remote away from Franco until he left. "I will not be staying, I need my sleep also. I would not want to fall asleep during our question and answer time together later." Looking around the room, Cole nodded then walked over to the table and picked up the one item left, the locked wooden box, and returned to beside the bed. "When I return I have a little surprise for you, which I am hoping will add to your willingness to give me the rest of the information locked in your brain." Cole unlocked the box and opened the lid. Inside were fifty Egyptian scarabs. They were tightly packed and were trying to crawl over and under each other to escape. Cole tilted the box, knowing there was a force field over the top of it, and showed Franco. He was throughly rewarded when the man's face went white as the sheets.

Franco had his mind flashback to when his mother had taken him to Egypt and he had awoken to scarabs crawling on him. He tried his hardest to put up a brave front but wondered just how Fixer had learned of that phobia. "Just what are you planning to do with those?" Saint asked as he had even more reason now to win the bet.

Cole chuckled and took the box back to the table. He removed the field over the box, but before the scarabs could escape off the table he surrounded it with another force field. The scarabs were happily exploring their new found freedom.

Franco watched in hidden terror as Fixer placed the opened box, of what he now knew held scarabs, on the table. He watched as they started crawling out of the box onto the table and could hide his terror no more as he screamed, “You keep those things away from me Fixer! I want to know how you found out about that phobia.”

Cole could hear the fear in Franco's voice. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see him trying to fight the fear. Cole had been become friends with Franco's older, by 15 minutes brother Marco, when they were both younger. Cole had even trained Marco in some fighting techniques, and helped to toughen him up, by giving him an equal to fight, which was not a brother. They had eventually separated and gone their separate ways in how to earn a living. They had not talked much over the past few years, but there was strong mutual respect. Because of the friendship, Cole had gotten in touch with Marco, when he found out he was going to have to question Franco and get information for a client. Marco had known better than to try to talk Franco out of the questioning, because he had known it was something Cole was definitely going to do. The two of them had come to an agreement though, Cole had promised Marco he would keep Franco alive and do as little damage to the wizard as possible.

Marco had told Cole a few things about Franco, hopefully to help Cole, break his brother so it would not take stronger measures.



Walking back to the bed. Cole patted Franco on the shoulder, handed him the remote and started toward the door, as he said, "Have a good night Saint. See you in six hours, when I will let you get better acquainted with my friends over there."

Saint jumped when his captor touched his shoulder as he thought the man had put one on him.

“You just gave me even more reason to win our bet Fixer. I got acquainted with those pests all I ever want when I was five. I plan on being out of this room by the time you want to chat...” Franco stopped and gave a questionable look as he finished, “...Unless escaping the room is not part of the bet? If it is then I promise to be just on the other side of that door. If not, I will be by the sink.” Looking at the bugs which he counted at twenty-five and still coming, Saint realized that he would put as much distance between himself and those bugs as he was allowed. The remote felt good in his hand but he cringed as he realized that Fixer must be sure that he would fail.

Cole laughed aloud and left the room not looking back. He could go to the office across the hall and watch in comfort

Walking across the hall, Cole opened the door to his office. He had dismissed the guards, because their shift was done. He made sure to tell them to send the next two in six hours. He had also congratulating them on their services and told them they had twenty-four hour leave. They were not allowed to leave the island, but Cole had set up a few necessary enjoyable activities for the men in his small army.

The painkiller Cole had given himself to prove it was what it was supposed to be to Franco, had kicked in completely. He felt relaxed and a little tired. Stopping to pour himself a glass of sweet-ice tea from the pitcher in the refrigerated glass cabinet; he made his way to the comfortable chair behind his desk. Making himself comfortable and turning the vibration to the lowest setting, turned on the video screen and sat back to watch what Franco had planned. The man's mind was intriguing to some extent. Someday he would be a formidable enemy or maybe friend.

The youngest male Spellman smiled as he heard the lock clink into place. It was time to get to work. He figured that finding the correct angle for the ancient trick to work would take the longest. He tried different angles and nothing. After about what felt like a thousand tries, Franco looked over at the scarabs and realized that no more had come out of the box in a while. He counted them and said a little aloud, “forty-nine, fifty... Just what I don't need...a distraction!”

Cole sipped his tea and rested his head on the high back of the chair, letting his feet allow the foot rest to fold out into a comfortable place. Franco was definitely worried about the scarabs. Cole shook his head slowly thinking, "He is going to have to get over that fear someday or it will always be able to be used against him." Cole needed a little more information from Franco about those connected with the Caretakers and Khalid's family, but if he could also kill some of the fear, which was, pinning Franco down, it would be a plus.

Cole reached into his desk drawer and found a bag of Tropical trail mix and poured some out on a napkin he had also retrieved and spread out on his desk. The show was getting interesting. Apparently Franco thought he was using Devil's Snare.

He decided to think of them as his brother Marco, who could be just as scary sometimes, with the practical jokes he would pull. Franco concentrated on the puzzle to keep his mind off of the bugs. Thinking the solution aloud, “That dang mirror should have worked unless it is not Devil's Snare I am dealing with? No, I must have missed something. Maybe if I go over the riddle again? Devil Snare Devil Snare, its deadly fun, but we'll soak in the sun.” Stopping and looking at the ceiling he realized his error as he said, “No wonder Fixer was so confident, I need sunlight not that artificial light.”

Turning the mirror to the correct angle to bounce the light from the window onto his bindings, Saint looked back at the scarabs saying, “The only way to win the bet now is if the light comes through that window before the Fixer comes through that door," Franco said trying to convince himself he still had a chance he added, "unlikely but not impossible.”

Cole smiled as he saw the man was not going to give up. Taking another sip of tea and then setting the glass down on the coaster on his desk, he wondered if he should let Franco discover the trees outside the window, would block all the direct sunlight coming in. It was a question he could get his brain to fasten on at the moment. He was tired.

Smiling as watched the scarabs swarming over the top of the table, he said, “You know you guys are not that bad... when you are not trying to crawl into my ears and nose, that is. Maybe one day, I will take the time to figure out why I have a phobia when I know you don't bite? I really need to figure those puzzles out as Marco's right when he tells me ... phobias are a weakness that our enemies can use against us. Fixer has proved that. It is one thing I can no longer afford.”

Cole allowed his eyes to close as Franco was coming to terms with the Scarabs. If Franco actually got loose alarms would go off when he got within three feet of the window or door. Smiling he made a mental note to tell Marco, all of his lectures had actually sunk in a bit. Marco had been wondering if his brother was actually listening when he tried to explain how the real world worked. The clock struck midnight as Cole drifted off to sleep. In four hours he would have to go at it again with Franco.

Four hours later, Cole's internal clock woke him. He looked at the screen and saw Franco appeared to also be waking up, having a little trouble orienting himself to his surroundings. Cole went to the sink and splashed water on his face. He hated beards, but he could not take the time to shave the stubble growing on his face. He was planning to get an early start on Franco, who even with the small nap his body had forced on him, still had to be tired and stiff from not being able to move all night. The stiffness Cole could take care of by letting Franco use the small very uncomfortable bathroom area before they started. It would be interesting also to see if Franco would try and excape.

Opening his office door he acknowledged the two new guards waiting patiently outside. It had never crossed Coles mind they would not be there. He had worked hard over the last three weeks getting the men oriented to their surroundings. He never asked them to do anything he did not join them in, whether it was training, running or setting up base camps on some outlying places around the island. He had viewing areas manned so he would know anything which came be sea or air. He had taken care of other types of arrivals through magical means. The island was tight, his men were happy, and Cole could relax a little. He was always aware of what was going on, but he did not have to answer a hundred questions a day, or be involved in any of the day to day running of the island. His Captains knew what he expected and knew what would happen if they failed. Knowledge Cole had instilled in everyone's minds the first week, because of some smart mouthed recruits, who thought they could work behind his back. They were no longer on the island and it would be a long time before they found their way back to civiliazation, if they ever did.

Franco must have dozed, because it did not seem like six hours when he heard the click of the door opening. He looked towards the window, trying to guage how close it was to the sun coming in. It was still too dark outside to give him a chance. Swallowing hard, he tried to take several deep breaths as he watched the door slowly open. As Cole came in followed by two new, but just as formidable guards, Saint said with a frown, “Well a bet is a bet. That will teach me not to give myself a backdoor.”

"That is a hard lesson to learn Franco, but one I think you will remember after our little talks." Cole walked over to the table and watched the bugs for a few moments. Standing in the same spot he looked toward the contraption by the window. "You know that was a good idea. It really is too bad, you did not take into consideration the shade outside the window was not going to let in any direct light." Cole turned back and walked over to the bed. Standing over Franco he asked, "So Franco you get any sleep? I did." Cole chuckled.

Franco started to turn his head as he said with a smile that he did not really feel, “You knew all along that I would not have the sunlight needed before you returned? Well I still honor my bets." Desperately trying to keep his voice level he asked, "Do you want to get them now?”

Patting Franco again on the shoulder Cole leaned on the side rail of the bed and said, "It is nice to know you are so much in a hurry to get on with our talk, Frankie." Cole used the nickname his brothers used, to see if it would get a rise out of him. "But first I am going to let you use the facilities and then you may have something to drink if you like; nothing to eat yet I am sorry, but depending on how the day goes, a meal can be prepared for you later. Now…" Cole stepped away from the bed and walked over to the window, where a false dawn was slowly making it's way across the sky.

The two guards undid the bindings on Franco's wrists, but down the side rail and stood back one step. They were daring Franco to make a wrong move. Cole leaned against the wall near the window and crossed his arms in front of him, motioning with his hand toward the another door which had appeared in the wall that the wall manacles were attached to. He added a smile and said, "When you are done we will continue." Removing the smile from his face he added on small bit of advice, "Do not take too long Franco. I am not that patient and your guards have their orders, Understand?"

Franco got angry as he listened to what Fixer called him. With venom is his voice he said, “Only friends and family are allowed to call me that and you Fixer are neither. I was referring to our bet. Do you want to go get them now as you are one person I want to payback quickly?” The Saint was not going to say the real reason he was wanting to settle that debt quickly, thinking, “Anything to get out and away from those bugs.” Looking at the guards as he realized he had a score to settle first. Within a matter of seconds both guards were laid flat. Smiling at Fixer, he said, "That was for Lance! I told you when I got free of the bindings what would happen. Fixer, remember I don't need magic to take out garbage."

Cole had not moved from his place leaning against the wall. His wand came slowly out of his sleeve and partially into his hand, but otherwise you would have never known he was watching two of his supposedly well-trained guards being taken out by one man. Franco, looked weak and the guards were giving him support. He wrapped his foot around one man's ankles and kicked the man's feet out from under him. The man's head hit the side of the bed and he was out cold. The second man eventually tried to grab Franco's arms. Franco ducked out from under the grab and caught him across the back with a downward chop. Bringing up his knee, he caught the man's face. The man was out cold. Those two guards had just earned more training.

Cole shook his head, saying, "Does this mean you do not want to use the facilities?" He had already sent out the signal for four new guards, who should be walking in the door momentarily. He also had his wand partially out of his sleeve. He had made the bet about the vaults, but he was not finished with the questions yet. As the door opened, Cole pointed to the to the bathroom door and raised his eyebrows.

Franco smiled as he walked to the bathroom saying, "Sure I will use your facilities. Just make sure your men remember that Lance is your guest and treat him as such. Cause Fixer, if I see even one of your goons manhandle him again..." Turning his head to face Fixer, he finished, "I won't just leave the next one knocked out, if you get my meaning." As he got to the bathroom door the Saint said, "I am okay about what I am going through but Lance is here as a doctor not a prisoner. Are we clear?"

Cole smiled and nodded, pointing again to the bathroom.

After receiving Fixer's reply, Franco went into the rest room.

When Franco emerged from the bathroom, the other guards were waiting for him. They were not happy two of their fellow guards had been knocked out. Franco was grabbed, not so lightly and pinned to the wall by one of the guards, arm across his upper chest, very close to his windpipe. Franco's hands were yanked into the restraints and his feet were pulled into their restraints. As Cole walked toward Franco, one of the guards pretended to trip and his elbow smacked into Franco's midsection. The man turned to Cole and said, "Sorry boss, tripped." Smiled and walked over to sit on the bed. Two of the guards flanked Franco and the forth, stood by the door.

Cole looked at the table and then at Franco. "You may have misunderstood me last night. When I made the bet it was to only cover one part of what I need from you. Now that we have that out of the way we can continue with the other questions. Those questions are what the scarabs are for." Cole looked at the guard to Franco's right and said, "Remove his shirt, please." The man walked in front of Franco, and ripped his shirt off of his chest and then totally off his body. Then he stared at Franco, smiled and stepped back into his place.

Reaching over the top of the force field, Cole drew out one bug and walked to within two feet of Franco. "We are going to have a question and answer time. The rules are simple, I ask you a question and you answer with the information I want. If you do not answer with what I think is the truth, I am going to place a bug on your chest. For every truthful answer you give me I will remove a bug. If one of the bugs falls off because of a quick movement of yours then I will put it back on and add an additional one. Have I made the rules clear?" Cole played with the scarab a little and even put it very close to Franco's chest.

Franco smiled as he said, "Hey Fixer, you do know that my brother Neo will most likely get to those files before you do?"

"I think I will take my chances on that one. You have already told me you have to be present to get into the vault at the bank. He may be able to get through the blood-lock on your office, but first he has to know I want them." Franco had thought of the possibility and had one of his men tailing Neo, everywhere. The caretakers were always watching for something out of the ordinary to happen, but Cole only used ordinary circumstances to follow and spy on people.
Upon hearing the rules, Saint cringed slightly, "Yeah but I have an easier way if you are up for the challenge?"

Cole put the bug back in the force field and stood with his arms crossed across his chest. "I may be interested in a challenge as long as it gets the information I want. What is your easier way ?"

Franco put a smile on his face, one he hoped resembled a real one. The way his insides were twisting though as his eyes involuntarily went to the bugs he was not sure he was succeeding. In as steady of a voice as he could get to come out of his mouth he said, "Ever heard of Magi Chess? Oh and Fixer guess where my key to the bank vault is kept. No key no entry."

"You know Franco; you are really making this much too easy for me. The more you talk, the more information you volunteer. When I take a job, I do research. I will admit I have had less time with you than normal, but I know how to compensate. I know your blood type is O Negative, so none of your brothers or your sister can get into your safe. I have played Magi Chess before and found the game interesting, but my patients is a little on the short side at the moment."

Franco stared at Cole puzzled by his words as he said, “I have given nothing away. Though I am wondering just how you know my siblings' blood type."

"Getting your blood type is not a problem, all of you have gone to St. Mungo's at one time or another so all of that is in your medical records." That bit of information should get Franco thinking; maybe Cole could even force the hospital to update their antiquated security system. It would make it harder for him to get information but not impossible

"... As for your patience Cole, I can safely say that it would have been easier to play me a game of Magi Chess to get the answers you seek...” Pausing to insure that Cole understood his next words were a promise, “Cause I can promise you the only way you are going to get anything of importance from me Fixer, is if I get some questions answered as well!"

Cole did not move from his spot by the window. The sun was coming up and he loved the first part of the morning. The island always felt crisp and clean in the early morning. Normally he would take a cup of tea and sit out on the front porch of the main house and watch the world come alive. The freah air coming in the window was going to have to do this morning. "I may be willing to answer some of your questions, Franco, but only if I want to."

Plus I was going to be able to get a drink? Egyptian Herbal Tea with one and a fourth teaspoon of sugar.” The Saint had to delay or change the way Fixer was going to questioned him. The scarabs on the table were okay where they were but Franco had a sickening feeling that his captor had every intention of using them and Saint's fear of them.

"Egyptian Herbal Tea sounds fantastic, but you are going to have to settle for water at the moment." Cole signaled one of the guard sitting on the bed, to get Franco a drink of water from the sink, and watched as the man let Franco drink from the cup. It was interesting how Franco's eyes shifted from Cole to the man giving him the drink as he drank the liquid. The man's mind was always working. Even tied up in the spread-eagle position he was in, Franco still appeared to be trying to see if he could use something happening to escape.

When the guard had stepped back he looked at Cole, who signaled him to move back to the bed. Cole took a slow breath and then walked closer to Franco patted his cheek. "I have questions wizard and you have answers. We will begin…"

Saint gave a short laugh and with confidence he did not feel said, “Have it your way Fixer but remember what I said about importance of information. So far, the questions you have asked are easily known. Let's see how much information of real value you get.” The only thing so far that Fixer had asked for of real value was the strange bet they had made. Franco was still going over in his mind the wager to try and figure out just what Khalid was after; “you will take me with you to your office to retrieve the files and any keys plus, allow me to check the vault out… you will also take me with you to your bank vault and let me go through it for information and keys.” Saint was pretty sure the files in the bank vault were of no real value any more since Marsden's death. Getting a look of determination, as he knew the answer had to be there as Cole had been extremely careful in his wording. He needed to know just what was so important that Fixer wanted to insure that it was given up.

"Any information you give me is important information Franco." Cole wanted Franco to give him some answers, which would break the barrier of Franco's determination to not answer anything. With each answer Franco gave he became a little more used to answering.

Cole walked back over to the force field, and retrieved one of the scarabs, a very large and nasty looking specimen. "Oh and Franco, these are very special scarabs. They have been altered just a tad. They bite." Cole looked into Franco's eyes and said, "First question, where the key to the bank vault is?" Cole held the scarab three inches from Franco's chest and held his eyes.

He cringed when he heard how these fifty scarabs were able to bite. Smiling as Franco heard the question knowing with this one he would not have to put Fixer's words to the test. Staring his captor in the eye as he said, “The key is yours since you won it in that bet. You should have realized that the question was already answered. The office safe, remember I asked if you wanted to go get them? Like I said Fixer, the type of questions you ask will decide if you ever receive an answer. You sure you don't want to change the type of game?”

Cole had gotten within an inch of Franco's bare chest with the squirming scarab. Pulling it back a little he smiled and congratulated Franco on his answer. "Very good, Franco. I thought I would start out easy to let you see I would stick by my words. A correct answer means no bug. Now for my next question. When a special team is formed everyone on the team has a specialty, what is your specialty Franco?" Cole put the bug back to within two inches of Franco's skin.

Franco was puzzled; he thought Cole was going to make him give information about the Caretakers, which could not be found out by ordinary means. "You saw an answer of my specialty at the Hog's Head. I specialize in disguises, which can get me in and out of places. And I never use Polyjuice." Franco was proud of his abilities.

"I will admit Franco; the disguise was very good, almost perfect." Cole looked at the man and thought about what Marco had said. They had a feeling Franco may be an Metamorphmagi, wizard born with the innate ability to change some or all of their appearance at will, which he would have inherited from his mother. Cole was not ready to push the point though. It would make it harder to control Franco. "Ok, lets try for something a little harder. Brennan is a profiler, but has been spending a lot of time at the school, protecting a girl named Tia from the reports I have had. Who is Tia and what is her greatest weakness?" Cole held the squirming bug in front of Franco's eyes.

Franco cringed when he heard Fixer's next set of questions. He was sure Fixer knew from Khalid just who Tia was. "He is testing me. That means I have to give who she is." Taking a deep breath as he said calmly, "Fixer, I am sure that Khalid told you all about Tia Andreas. Remember what I said about information value? Well it looks like those bugs are about to be put to the test as the Princess' weakness are none of yours or Khalid's business. Shadow has put that young girl through enough."
"I think I need to make myself clear on one point Franco. When I ask a question, I want a full answer. Never take it for granted I know something because from this point on it will be counted as no answer." One of the ways Cole picked up information was listening to more than one explanation. Depending on the persons, personalities doing the answering, different fact generally were mentioned. "Since I did not explain this before, I will accept your answer to the first question this one time as being complete. As for the second part…." Cole put the large scarab on Franco's bare chest. At first it did not move, but only for a moment. It headed up. Behind it Cole could see several small dots where it had taken a bite. The bite of the genetically engineered Scarab was no worse than a very large mosquito. Each bug could and would bite more than one time as it traveled; Franco would be unable to scratch the bite, which meant it would grow more painful in time. He would not die from the bites, but his mind would be taken up with fighting against the itch, thus not making him unable to think clearly. Cole was going to play on that.

Franco watched the bug, crawl up his chest and felt the bites, which more like hard pinches. Soon he felt the itch begin to build. He swallowed hard then said, "My brother James died protecting that girl so I won't destroy his memory by helping you guys where she is concerned!"

"I knew your brother, he was a great person. I had nothing to do with his death and I am sorry he is gone. Franco you are not going to die this day, but if you do not answer my questions, you may wish for it. You are already feeling the effects of one scarab. What happens when there are ten or twenty crawling on you… crawling into places you would not want them to be crawling…" Cole turned and walked back to the table. Reaching in the top of the force field, he picked out a much smaller bug. Holding it in the pinchers so Franco could see it he said, "The first bug was large … this one is small and will be able to get into areas the other cannot. So let's try again… what is Tia's greatest weakness?" Cole held the bug one inch from the same spot he had started the other one.

Franco shook his head as he said with finality in his voice, "Where that girl is concerned the answer will always be no! Khalid would want that knowledge for only one reason. To use it against her and that I will not give!"

Cole sadly shook his head and put the second bug on Franco's chest. This one did not wait, it also started to climb, but on the other side of his chest. Cole checked and found the first had made it to Franco's neck. It looked like it was trying to decide on going onto his face or into his hair. Cole returned to the table and grabbed another bug. This one he held near the bottom of the leg of Franco's boxer briefs. Saying mostly to himself, but so he knew Franco could hear, "I never have found out if they can bite through cloth." He looked up at Franco who was trying to look straight ahead and not watch the second but make its way up his chest, "What do you think Franco, shall we find out?" Measuring his words he said, "What… is… Tia's… greatest… weakness? Give me an answer and I remove one of the bugs…" Franco was definitely stubborn, his brothers would be proud of him. Unfortunately, it was not getting them anywhere; maybe a little help with an adequate answer. "Franco, I know Tia has a problem with her leg, it has been in all her medical reports… if you will admit her leg is at least one of her greatest weaknesses, I will call off the test on the theory scheduled to start very soon."

Franco cringed as he faced a major problem as he thought , "Fixer knows and plans to test his theory on the young princess. If I don't give him something, Fixer will find out from Tia herself. I can't allow that as if he frightens her into running, Tia could be too weak to fight off her attacker. I join the Caretakers to protect the girl not to put her in danger."

Staring at Fixer as he said nodding, "Don't you harm her Fixer! Testing your theory could kill her. My brother James was holding her when he was cursed in the back by The Cutting Curse..."

Cole deposited the bug he had in the pinchers back onto the table and retrieved the largest bug from Franco's jaw line. The scarab had been heading for his face. "Now that was not so bad, was it Franco." Cole took the nearest chair and turned the back of it toward Franco. Slowly he straddled the chair never taking his eyes off Franco. The small bug had made its way to Franco's hair line. It was debatable on whether it would continue to his hair or enter his ear. There was a trail of bites up his chest and his neck. They had to be itching bad.

Cole folded his arms across the back of the chair and put his chin on his arms, switching his eyes from the scarabs scrambling around on the table to Franco. "I think it is time to change our little game a bit. So what we are going to do is let you decide what would be important to me. When I say go… you will start telling me things about the Caretakers, Professor Tarik Sadiki, and the Core of children, those three subjects only at the moment. If you stop talking or start to repeat yourself I will count to five and put a bug on you … if you stop talking I will count to five … placing a bug if you do not start talking again…. When I think I have received some useful information, I will remove a bug, do you understand the rules?"

Franco stared at Cole with a look of confusion. The man wanted him to give up information on his friends and those that they protected. The bites itched like mad but also gave him a way to maybe turn things around. With a look of frustration on his face, Saint asked, "Sorry, new rules, what new rules? I been too busy trying to get my mind off this itching and zoned out I guess?"

Cole laughed and looked at the floor in front of the chair. Taking a breath he got up out of his seat and walked to within one foot of Franco. Looking him straight in the eye, he said with venom in his voice, "That will not work Saint, you are better trained than that, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt you did not understand me." Moving his face a little closer he said, "So I will repeat myself this one time only. From this point on paying strict attention to every word I say will be in your best interest. You will start talking about the Caretakers, Tarik Sadaki and the Core… if you stop you will have five seconds to begin again or receive a bug on your chest… if you repeat yourself you will have another bug added… if I think I have gotten some valuable information I will remove one or more bugs…. Have I made myself perfectly clear?"

Franco was not about to betray his friends and so looked at the table as he said after taking a deep breath, "Fixer, I guess you might as well place the rest on me as I will not betray my friends by giving you anything of value. Have I made myself Clear?"

After hearing Fixer, Franco swallowed hard as he said, "Fixer, you thought my fear of the scarabs would override my training but you forgot one very important detail?"

Looking at the table and then the door as he continued, "Betraying my friends is something that overrides anything you may do. I will not allow any information I give to endanger or be used against them. With those thoughts to guide me...I can stand the itching."

Cole returned to his chair and thought for a moment, then he motioned for the guard on Franco's left to come to him and bend down so he could whisper in his ear. The guard nodded and Cole said, "Say it exactly how I said it to you, or he won't come, understand, he is not to be forced." The guard nodded again and left. Cole just sat in the chair, smiled and looked at Franco. He did not say a word.

About five minutes later, the door opened and the guard walked in with an elf. One of Cole's specially trained elves. Cole had five trained elves, each one from one of the five elfin clans in Scotland, working for him, or a better way of putting it would be working with him. He paid them in what was ever important for their clan. They understood why he was doing what he was doing and had agreed to help; they were free elves. To the rest of the Wizarding world though, they were his servants, by mutual agreement. Cole looked at the elf and beckoned him forward. The elf bowed slightly and said, "Master, how may I be of service?" Cole whispered into the elf's ear, causing the elf to get a questioning look on his face. Cole whispered again and the elf bowed deeply.

The elf walked over to the table and held his hand over the top of the force field. One of the scarabs started to grow. When it was about three inches long, it turned on the other scarabs and ate them all. When it was done it came to the edge of the table and sat staring at Franco. It wanted the bug still crawling on the man. Cole turned back to Franco after watching what happened. "I think this scarab will cause a little more than just some itching, Franco. Shall we find out or do you want to start talking….?"

Franco stared at the only bug left on the table and then said with regret in his voice but also a finality as well, "When are you going to understand Fixer? I have fears that are deeper and stronger than anything that bug can do." He prayed that he was right and could hold out.

"I won't give you anything that could do harm to my friends or those we protect! Especially not to save myself some discomfort..."

Cole listened. Putting his elbows on the back of the chair and formed a pyramid with his fingers. He studied Franco. The scarab was not doing what he wanted, because Franco felt he could still stay in control. There was two times when Franco had known he lost control. One was at the Hogs Head, when the bullwhip was used on him and the second was when Khalid had used the drugs on him. Cole was not ready to bring his specialist with the bullwhip in so it looked like the drugs were going to have to be the answer.

Slowly he got up out of the chair and walked to the table. Taking out his wand, he said the spell, which would destroy the scarab. Cole signaled for the elf to leave and then to the guards to stand down and take a five minute break outside the room. When they left, Cole went and sat on the edge of the now clear table, put his hands on the edge of it for balance and stretched his legs out in front of him. Slowly he raised his eyes to Franco who was still fighting the effects of the bites, which peppered his torso. After a moment he got up and walked to the hidden cabinet at the top of Franco's bed and unlocked it. Looking inside he pulled out a small package and walked back to where his captive was strung up on the wall. Opening the package he took out a large damp wipe and said, "This is going to sting, but it will help with the itching." Then he wiped Franco's chest, neck and ears with the whip.

When he was done he through the wipe away in the track receptacle cut into the wall, and put the package down on the table. "Franco I have been trying hard not to use the one method I know will get results but that could cause damage to either you newly healed heart or to other parts of your body. Do you remember at all what Khalid did to you in his playroom ?"

FRANC SPELLMAN
Franco cringed as he remembered very well what both times that serum was used on him forced out of him. Smiling as he also remembered that with that serum he looked drugged. "That serum can't be masked Fixer! Use it and you can forget getting into the bank vault." Saint said with a sly grin. That was until his mind reminded him that Fixer had another serum as well. "Could that serum make me appear normal and just what are the side effects that worried Cole so?" Franco feared that he had just gone from the frying pan into the fire. As he listened and watched Fixer, Franco knew the man would make him regret his words and stubbornness.

As he walked back to the cabinet, Cole said over his shoulder. "The drug you remember wears off after a while. Depending on how many shots you have determines how long it takes to wear off and how painful the withdrawal from it is." As he collected three full hypodermic needles, two empty hypodermic needles and a small brown jar of liquid from the cabinet, locked it and returned to the table he said, "I will tell you a little secret Franco. It took me three weeks to come down from the six shots I had of the serum, and you do not want to ever have to live through that pain, I can guarantee you." Cole laid the item carefully out on the table. "I have three prepared needles of that juice, but it can be made in about two days if I need more. Now for the other stuff…" He picked up one of the empty syringes, with a very large needle on it and inserted it in the stopper of the bottle, drawing out a dark pink liquid. "This is something very special I came up with. It has been tried on only two other people, and I will tell you both survived." Cole allowed the corners of his mouth to slowly form a wicked smile, "They look perfectly normal and the doctors have guaranteed me the pressure points on their bodies will take a while longer to return to the normal pain level they would give when touched. They were given about half of what I have in this bottle."

Cole put the filled needle and bottle back down on the table and returned to his position sitting on the edge. "Franco I do not like using pain to get information, but I will have the information I need or you will be here a lot longer than was originally planned. Lance has been asking about you, and I told him, when I have what I need, he will be allowed to return. At the moment he is being held in comfort, but that can change also." Cole looked at the floor then pinned his eyes on Franco, "Tell me about the Core… just start talking and I will tell you when to stop… if you would like to pick one of the other subjects you may… just start talking."

Franco cringed as he thought about what Fixer said about Lance. With worry in his voice he said, "What did you mean Fixer? Lance is a doctor. He came in good faith." Lance was Franco's responsibility as his friend was only there because of him. The Saint knew he could not willing give information on the Core, especially Tia. He needed to protect Lance but how and just was Fixer's plans for Lance if not as a guest. "Lance is your guest Fixer. What are you planning concerning him?"

Not moving from his perch on the edge of the table, Cole studied Franco. "Yes in a way the doctor is my guest … and he is only here to take care of you, but Franco the doctor is a Caretaker Group member also. I need information about the group and I will get my information. I know you may not consider I have any honor, but I do and I will tell you the information I get from you during your visit with me here on the island, will stay with me. The information is not the final stop on my quest, it is to help me move to another step." Cole turned and picked up the hypo, "so it is your decision, your pain or someone else's and I get information, or no pain and I get information"

Franco looked at Fixer as he said, "Before I tell you anything, I want to see and talk to Lance...Alone. You are right about one thing though, Fixer." Franco studied Fixer as he said, "I don't trust your word or honor. But if you honor my request..." Saint swallowed hard as he made the deal saying, "then I will answer your questions about some of the ones you are asking about. But understand this I won't give anything on Tarik or the Core. Fixer, even Lance's well being is not worth risking them. Do we have a deal?"

Cole took a long hard look at Franco. Letting the man talk with the doctor, was not a problem. The room was secure and Cole could of course watch and listen from his office. It would be interesting to find out what they talked about. "Agreed, we have a deal." Cole walked to the cabinet and stored all of the syringes and drugs in it and locked it. Then he went to the door and put his hand on the opener. Before he turned it he turned to Franco and said, "I know you have honor Franco and I will hold you to no tricks. We can make this easy and all get on with our lives." Cole turned the handle, opened the door and said something to one of the men standing outside. Before he closed the door one of the other guards came in and stood just inside. Cole went back and sat on the edge of the table and crossed his arms on his chest. "The doctor is coming. When he gets here, I will give you fifteen minutes alone. Then we will talk."

Franco heard Fixer and nodded as he added, "Fixer, as soon as I am done talking with Lance, I want him to leave the island. Give any excuse to him you want but I will not endanger him further." The Saint knew he was risking being refused the request. He had to get Tia's cousin out of the hands of her enemies. Franco knew that if given the serum he would be forced to reveal a secret that even Tia herself did not know. Before that happened Lance had to be safe and where he could like the Princess be well guarded.

Cole had resumed his perch on the table's edge. "Your request is denied, Saint. The second serum is too unpredictable to not have the doctor close. You may talk with the doctor but he will stay on the island, in case I need him. Now do I let him in to talk with you, of do I send him back to his room ?" Cole would be questioning the doctor later, but knew it would only be voluntary information he would obtain from him. Franco was his job at the moment. The doctor held secrets but not something Franco needed at the moment. He liked Lance Kildare and respected the man and the doctor. The doctor was easy to read, because even though he could shut down his mind to invasion, he wore his heart of his sleeve as the old saw went. Franco had hesitated, so Cole asked one more time, "Do I let the doctor in under my terms or send him away?" Cole watched and waited. The door slowly started to open.

Franco heart sank when he received his answer. "Fixer, you don't need the serums as I have agreed to answer your questions. I just won't answer any questions concerning Tarik or any of the Core. Of course I want to talk to Lance but afterwards I request that he be sent home as he has other patients besides me, including Tia. Reconsider Fixer?"

The guard Cole had sent to get Lance stepped partially into the room and looked at Cole for permission to bring in the doctor. Cole held up his hand, signaling him to wait a moment and looked at Franco saying, "I know you have agreed to answer my questions without the serums, Saint, but on some you may be more reluctant to give an answer than I can accept. I told you I will get my information, easily or by harder ways." Cole looked at Franco with steel set eyes as he added, "I will get my information." When he knew Franco had gotten his meaning, the relaxed a little and continued, "As for the doctor; No the doctor stays. The doctor arranged for his other patients before joining us here. You see Saint, he was allowed to leave for twenty-four hours, with the understanding he told no one, where he had been or where he was returning too. He took a wizard's oath on that. So what will it be…?" Cole continued to hold off the guard, waiting to give him the signal to either bring Lance in or return him to his room.

Franco hung his head as he realized that he had gained nothing by making the deal. Fixer would get the answers for those that Saint refused to answer willingly by giving the serum. Franco pulled on his bindings as he said, "Do I have to talk to Lance chained to this wall? I rather he did not know about our deal as I now understand that you are just going to use the serum to get the rest of your answers. And you say you have honor? People with honor would never go after children. They would not ask about weaknesses of a girl who never asked for this war. They would leave the children out of it!" Franco knew that he now had to deal with damage control and one day make Fixer pay for threatening the Core. As he thought about what Fixer's goal was his eyes went red as did the highlights of his hair. The Saint was too furious to notice.

Cole watched, schooling his face to not show what he was seeing. Franco's abilities were manifesting themselves and the man did not seem to notice. He was turning into a rat which Cole was familiar with since it was his own alter state, or something along that lines. He realized he had defuse the situation. He signaled to allow Lance into the room. As the doctor entered, he got up, retrieved the syringes off the table and locked them in the cabinet. He also signaled for the guard to release Franco. "Sit Franco, and do not make me, or anyone else, regret you are free for now." Before he headed for the door though he said, "Saint, let's get one thing out of the way. I have a question for you to ponder, which may make it easier for you to answer some of my questions when you are through talking with the doctor, If I do not know about the children, their habits and how they would react to some situations, how can I make sure they do not get caught in the middle of any of my missions or jobs?" Cole raised his eyebrows, lowered them, turned and said to Lance, "Doc you have fifteen minutes, use it wisely." With that, he signaled all the guards to leave and walked out the door. Before he went to his office across the hall, he stationed one at the door and sent the other to the small glade outside the window, with the instructions to stay out-of-sight, but to be watchful. He gave his permission to take anyone down who came out of the window, but use just short of deadly force.

Cole went to the shelves built into the wall where he kept beverages of his choice and a small refrigerator stocked with basic high quality snacks. Normally for meals he ate with the men, but today he would stay close to the room across the hall. He made himself comfortable at his desk, poured himself a glass of wine, and picked up the remote to the screening system."This should be good," he said to himself.

Lance checked Franco over from head to foot with his eyes. The man had small red markings on his chest and neck. The resembled bites. He walked closer and felt Franco's head, then made him hold his head back so he could get a better look into his eyes. Franco was not under the influence of any drugs at the moment, but his eyes were red and his hair had red streaks in it… Lance cringed to himself. If what he thought was happening, they were going to need help soon. It was not hard to know Cole was watching what was happening. Lance was not sure if they would be confirming Franco was a Metamorphmagus or if it would be new information to Cole. He knew it was going to be new information to Franco. Until the man could be trained, the change would have to be prevented, which would not be good for Franco's weak heart. His body would still try and make the change, and when it was stopped there would be conflict between his mind and body.

When Lance noticed, Franco's eyebrows turning into fine pin feathers he knew, Franco's mind had chosen a bird. It had to be stopped before Franco started to body transformation; his nose had grown a little and the few hairs on his chest had taken on a feathery look. Lance looked up at the ceiling light and said, "Help now, need elf magic." The only thing he could do was watch as further signs started to appear. The change was progressing quickly.