Breaking Point 11.5

"You just gonna stare at me like that all day?"

Engineer was stirring something up in the pot bubbling quietly on his portable hotplate. It'd become a habit to get up early and take care of the kid. As irritating as it was, the routine was still useful to him even now.

Predictably, Scout's eyes hardened at the question. "I'm makin' sure you don't put no drugs in it."
Engineer just sighed. "Trust me, boy, you ain't got nothin' to worry about." He checked the pot, and shook his head with a sigh. "Still ain't ready yet… Ah well."

Scout watched with alarm as Engineer grabbed the set of keys hanging on the opposite side of the wall, and let himself into the tiny cage. "Wh…What are you doing?! Stay away from me!"
"Calm down," Engineer grunted. He held up a slender, glass thermometer. "I just wanna take your temperature, is all. Gotta make sure you're doin' alright." He sat next to the kid, and angled it towards his mouth.
"Fuck off." Scout pouted and pulled the blankets around himself stubbornly.

"Oh, c'mon…" Engineer sighed. Suddenly, a grin popped onto his face, and he slyly whispered, "If you don't open up, I'll just have to take it from ya rectally!"

He'd meant for it to be a joke. In hindsight, nothing about what he'd said was a good idea in the slightest. The color drained from Scout's face, and he stared at Engineer with his lips pressed into a straight, thin line. "I… Um… I didn't mean it that way… I wouldn't force you to… um…"
"Yeah… I got it," Scout replied quietly. He steeled himself once more. "Alright, fine, ya fag."

With a satisfied smile, Engineer plopped the device into Scout's mouth. Under the tongue, just like his mom used to do to see if he was just trying to get out of school. Scout knew that it was just how you took someone's temperature, but it still made his heart ache.

Engineer gave a low whistle. "A solid 100." A frown. "I'm… I'm actually not sure if that's better or not."
"Better n' what?" Scout asked, burying into the blankets. He blinked away the tears stinging his eyes.
"When I brought ya here, you had a temperature of 86," Engineer replied, going back to check on the stove.
Scout didn't know how to respond. He didn't even know it was possible to still be living at a body temp that low.

"Ah, good." Engineer began spooning the stuff into a bowl, and began sprinkling salt, cinnamon, and a few spoonfuls of sugar into the mix.
Scout's lip curled up slightly in disgust. "The hell IS that?" he asked.
"Oatmeal," Engineer replied. "You're under my care now, so I'll feed ya what I damn well please. But we'll start ya off easy first."
"Aw, jeez…" Scout groaned. "I fuckin' hate oatmeal!"
"Just eat it."

Correction. Scout USED TO hate oatmeal. But he found that, after days of being fed the same bland mixture of corn and rice together, oatmeal was practically gourmet. He gobbled up the treat up hungrily, though he stubbornly insisted he was strong enough to feed himself, and wouldn't let Engineer so much as touch him while he was eating.

Engineer sighed and smiled, happy to see the kid appreciated something he did for once. Even if it figured that he'd win a Scout over with food.

He was just about to offer something to drink, when he heard a frantic, buzzing noise. Scout curiously looked up from his bowl of oatmeal, and Engineer explained, "It's my custom-made doorbell. Handy when your workshop is soundproofed."
A shrug and a nod.

He turned on the intercom, and asked, "Yeah?"
"Engineer! Come outside immediately! I have a pressing matter to discuss!"

Scout froze, eyes widening. He quietly place his spoon in his bowl, and dropped his gaze to his lap. He was shaking again.

"… All right, Spy. I'll be right there."

Engineer glanced at the trembling form behind him. "Don't worry. I'll handle this, kid. You ain't got nothin' t'worry 'bout."
Scout couldn't respond.

Sighing, Engineer exited his little workshop, and approached his bedroom door. He opened it to see Spy tapping a cigarette, as if to rid himself of the ash. It was still unlit.

"We've got a problem," Spy hissed before Engineer could even get out a word. He paused to take a draw on his cigarette, then noticed that it was unlit. He shakily brought a flame to the end, and huffed without pleasure. "'e's gone."

Engineer just blinked, staring up at him. Then, he glanced behind the thin man's frame, noting the conspicuous trail of hardly smoked cigarettes leading to his room. "… Holy hell, pardner. Was that all you?"
"Don't mind zhose for now!" Spy snapped irritably. "Did you 'ear what I said?! 'E's. Gone."
"Who?"

Spy leaned in close, hissing between his teeth. "Who do you zhink, you imbecile?! Zhe BLU Scout!" He pulled away from the Texan, glancing around nervously as he flicked away his cigarette and lit up another. "Mon dieu! If 'e 'as escaped, zhe blame will be cast upon ME! We 'ave to find 'im! Tell me – when did you last check up on zhe little wretch? We 'ave no time to lose, though I doubt 'e got very far with 'is injuries."

"Oh, him." Engineer leaned casually on the doorframe. "I have him."
Spy actually looked surprised. "… What?"
"He's with me. He ain't escaped. He was suffering from a very serious illness, so I took 'im in."

Suddenly, Spy exhaled, and an oily grin spread over his face. "Oh. So zhat is what 'as 'appened?" A chuckle. "I was worried for a moment zhere. I zhought zhat maybe you 'ad made a careless error and zhat I was going to have to pay for it." He blew out a casual plume of smoke. "Tell me. When can I expect to see 'im in my chambers again?"

"Never."
Spy froze, his smile melting off his face in disbelief.
"I ain't givin' him back. He's with me now."

There was a long, uncomfortable pause as Engineer glared Spy down behind his goggles. Spy just stared back, as if he didn't know how to take this unexpected revelation. Then, there was another grin. Spy's eyes glittered malevolently as he laughed.

"Oh, I see…" he purred.
Engineer raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
"My dear Engineer, I understand your plight. I am not as 'eartless as you make me out to be! We can share 'im – zhere's no need for selfishness. As long as my schedule isn't interrupted, you can do whatever you please with zhe little wretch. Perhaps we can even… meet up togezher somewhere down zhe line."

Engineer couldn't have looked more horrified if someone had called his mother a whore. "I take OFFENSE to that!" he snapped viciously. "I ain't like you, ya god damned sicko! I want nothin' to do with you! I ain't rapin' the kid, and I sure as hell ain't givin' him back so that YOU can rape 'im! He's with me now!"

Spy looked taken aback for half a second before his face broke out into an ugly sneer. "If zhat is 'ow you want to play it, zhen fine! Let's see what Monsieur Soldat 'as to say about your unauzhorized aiding of zhe enemy! About you disobeying 'is orders that I was to be in charge of zhe boy!"

"Go ahead; tell 'im." Engineer crossed his arms decisively. "And I'll tell him how you disobeyed his direct orders to keep the boy in decent living conditions in case we needed to question him more. That boy was on the brink of death when I got to him." A snarl. "Matter of fact, how about I tell him about your sexual relationships the kid? Which is against regulations that was set by Redmond himself?"

At Spy's horrified look, the stout Texan smirked. "And you can be sure that I'll give Solly VERY detailed accounts of your various deeds with Scout. And it won't stop there. I'll make sure the entire base knows. You won't be able to walk down the halls without everyone looking at you and knowing you for the ugly, perverted rapist you are. You'll never be respected or admired again – I'll see to it."

Spy was redder than his suit and spluttering with anger. "B…B-But—"
Engineer smirked. "Now, I'll admit. I'll probably get in hot water, too. But it'll barely be a slap on the wrist compared to what you'll suffer. You probably won't get in TOO much trouble officially, but the entire base will despise you."

"And as for me…" he continued, "Heck, Soldier might even let me keep the kid. I mean, the set-up might be a little… cushier than someone like Solly would like, but it's definitely not paradise. It's still a prison." His smirk got wider. "But that doesn't even compare to the biggest advantage I have over you. Solly just plain likes me better. He'll probably side with me just 'cause he can't stand your scrawny ass to begin with."

He paused a moment to let it all sink in. "Now we don't HAVE to go through all that icky reportin' to superiors stuff. You just go about your way, and I'll go about mine, and we never have to talk about this again. But I'm keeping the boy."

Spy clutched his cigarette in his hand and ground his teeth together so loudly, it sounded like two rocks were being scraped together. Engineer was inwardly wincing, but he wouldn't let himself be seen backing down.

Finally, Spy let out a low, animalistic growl. "You… You will pay for zhis, Laborer…"
Engineer paused. Carefully, he raised his goggles so that they were resting on his forehead, cracked his neck few times, and glared directly into Spy's eyes.

His words were soft and utterly dangerous.

"What did you just call me?"

For a moment, neither of them moved. Spy knew he had Engineer by at least three inches, but Engineer was sturdy and muscular, and he'd had his skull cracked open by enough wrenches to know that sedating him by force would be a walk in the park for the Texan.

So. Spy had two options: initiate a fistfight with the man, and end up looking like a complete fool in front of the entire base, or make a strategic retreat.

There was another low growl. "Zhis isn't over," the enraged Frenchman spat. He backed away, willing Engineer to burst into flames from his falcon-like gaze alone.

Engineer just snorted, posture relaxing. "Yeah, it is," he grumbled, giving Spy one last warning glare as he shut and locked his door.

When he returned to his workshop, he found Scout curled up into a little ball, trembling like a leaf. His bowl was tossed haphazardly to the side and his blankets were soaked in a foul smelling vomit. His thin arms were wrapped around his skinny body as he sobbed as quietly as he possibly could.

"Please…" he whispered. "Please, don't let him get me again… Please…"

There was silence for a bit. The bed groaned as Engineer took a seat next to the boy, and shakily stroked his hair.

"I won't."