29. Chase

The plan was simple. Jared would dress up as a delivery man and pretend to deliver a package to Mr. Peabody. When Peabody opens the front door, Chase and team would rush in and torture the guy until he finally spills the beans as to where he is keeping Levi. Simple enough.

Marc, of course, didn't like the plan one bit. He thought they were rushing and shouldn't be making any moves until he had a chance to do some recon and gather more information. The guy was such a planner.

Chase, of course, wasn't hearing any of it. He told Marc that he could fire him if he wanted to, but there was no fucking way he was going to wait any longer. If he couldn't find out where Peabody was keeping Levi on his own, Chase would force the information out of Peabody.

Sensing Chase's unwillingness to compromise, Marc finally gave in and began working on Plan B: Save Chase's ass once he gets caught by Peabody and taken as well. Chase didn't appreciate the sarcasm but figured it was always good to have a backup plan… just in case.

While the professional side of Matteo wasn't too keen on torturing someone without actual proof that he had abducted his son, the darker side of Matteo knew that, more likely than not, Peabody was their guy, and like hell was he going to let the man hurt someone he loved. Matteo agreed to let Chase do things his way while he tried to run down a few other leads that might assist them.

"Where the hell did you get that outfit?" Isaac asked, whispering from behind the bushes.

"I had a guest who was into deliveryman fantasies," Jared answered, shrugging his muscular shoulders.

"Like, fuck. I can totally see your dick imprint through those tight-as-fuck shorts, man," Isaac gushed.

Jared smirked. "Think Peabody will like it?"

"Judging by that bulge in your shorts, I think you're gonna give the old man a heart attack."

They both chuckled silently.

"Will you both shut up?" Chase growled from the bush on the other side of the front steps.

"Sorry, man. But seriously, look at that bulge! The sight of that thing is going to scramble Grandpa's brain, and then we won't be able to ask him any questions," Isaac added.

Chase gave a huff. How the fuck did he get stuck with these two idiots? Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Oh yeah, he asked them for help.

"Get that pincushion under control before I tranq him," Marc's voice came through the earpiece pressed in Chase's ear.

"Marc says shut up, or he'll shoot you," Chase warned as a tiny red dot appeared on Isaac's chest.

"What the—" Isaac began before trying to cover the dot with his hands.

"Lord… This one isn't very bright, is he?" Marc asked, referring to Isaac's attempt at blocking a laser pointer from hitting him in the chest.

Chase tightened his jaw. He was losing patience quickly. "Jared, you're up."

Jared tucked the empty box under his arm and adjusted his junk one last time.

"Press the damn button," Chase snarled impatiently.

Shooting Chase a side-eye, Jared pressed the doorbell, then adjusted his stance. He placed his hand on his hip and puffed out his chest, all while flexing his biceps. If there was one thing that the guys at La Maison were good at, it was striking a mouthwatering pose.

A moment later, the front door opened, and a smiling Peabody poked his head out.

"Well, hello there. How may I help you?" the unsuspecting man greeted. He adjusted his glasses as his eyes immediately dropped to the large bulge straining against Jared's shorts.

Guess Jared was right.

"Are you Oldridge Peabody?" Jared asked, holding up the box in his hand and reading the name on the label.

"Why, yes, I am," Peabody responded, eyes lighting up.

"This is for you," Jared said, holding out the package.

Chase remained kneeling behind the bushes.

"Well, thank you, son," Peabody responded, reaching for the package.

It was at that very moment that Peabody let out a cry of pain as Jared headbutted the man. Blood burst from his nose as he stumbled backward into the house. He dropped the box and clutched at his gushing nose.

Jared leaped forward, tackling Peabody to the floor. Chase and Isaac leaped from their hiding places and rushed into the house right behind Jared.

"What the fu—" Peabody began but was cut off by the sound of Jared's fist cracking his nose once again.

"It's time we had a little one-on-one chat," Chase growled as he grabbed Peabody by the arms and pulled him to his feet. He dragged the bleeding old man through the hallway and into the kitchen located at the back of the house.

This should give them some privacy.

"What's going on?" Peabody shouted. His eyes shifted between the three men who had invaded his home.

"No, no, no, Gramps, we're the ones who will be asking you the questions," Isaac responded, dancing around his kitchen, opening and closing drawers as he went along.

"Pass me the duct tape," Chase huffed as he pushed Peabody down onto one of his kitchen chairs.

Isaac pulled the tape out of his little bag and tossed it toward them.

Cursing, Peabody struggled as Chase and Jared taped his arms and legs to the chair. For a man in his fifties, he had quite a bit of strength.

"Yes!" Isaac cheered as he pulled a bottle of whiskey out of the cabinet above the fridge.

"We didn't come here to drink," Jared snarled, huffing as he secured the tape around Peabody's struggling left leg.

"I know. Doesn't mean I can't have a few while I watch you two pull off this geezer's arms one at a time," Isaac said as he hopped up onto the counter and popped open the bottle.

There was a hint of an Irish accent in his voice Chase noticed for the first time. It was very subtle, but it was there. He wondered what the boy's story was and how he ended up at La Maison, but that bit of trivia would have to wait. He had more important things to do, like making this old fuck talk.

Peabody became hysterical at the mention of being dismembered.

Chase shot Isaac a look. Fucking idiot.

"We'll only pull off your arms if you don't answer our questions," Chase clarified, wrapping the last piece of tape around the man's arm.

Once Peabody was snug and secure, they stepped away from the chair.

"Now, where are you keeping Levi?" Chase asked, folding his arms across his chest and glaring down at the man tied to his kitchen chair.

"I told you yesterday, I don't know where he is. He never came home with me!" Peabody sniveled.

Anger flooded through Chase. Were they going tostart this bullshit again?

Without thinking, he took a hard swing and punched the blubbering man across the jaw. The startled man went flying while the legs of the chair snapped beneath Peabody's weight.

"Whoa! He-Man!" Isaac screeched. "Now I know why Levi gets so wet every time you walk into a room. With muscles like that, you must be a killer in the sac!" Isaac finished with heart-shaped eyes popping out of his head.

Jared gave an eye roll in Chase's direction. Guess he didn't appreciate Isaac ogling over him.

"Here, help me get him tied to another chair. Guess I was a tad too rough," Chase ordered, glancing guiltily at Jared.

"Yeah, you think?" Jared snapped back, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

They secured Peabody to another chair and decided to try again.

"This time, let's exercise restraint when beating the guy's face in," Jared proposed.

"Okay, here's how it's going to work. Every time you give me an answer that I don't like, you're going to get a face full of fist." Chase glanced over at Jared. "And my buddy here will hold the chair down to make sure that you don't fall off again. Understood?"

Peabody nodded as he sobbed in pain.

"I'm going to check out the rest of the house," Isaac announced, hopping off the counter and exiting the kitchen with the bottle of whiskey still in his hand.

"Now, where is Levi?" Chase asked again.

"I don't know who you're talking about."

"Levi! Where the fuck is he?" Chase shouted, striking Peabody across the face with barely enough time for Jared to dive down and hold onto the back of the chair.

The man's head swung backward, but when the man straightened up, he was… laughing?

This was utter bullshit.

Chase lost his cool once again. He grabbed the laughing hyena by the collar and growled into his face. "What's so funny?"

Sweat and tears dripped down Peabody's grinning face as he chuckled. "Oh, you'll never find him." He let out another cackling laugh. "Or any of the others."

Chase and Jared exchanged a glance.

Who the fuck was this guy?

Levi and Matteo had both described Peabody as a sweet and gentle man who seemed a little lonely. This man laughing before them was nothing but. He appeared to enjoy watching the anger and pain on Chase's face, knowing that there was nothing that he could do unless Peabody chose to tell him.

Not wanting to murder the man where he sat, Chase stormed out of the kitchen and into the living room.

He began pacing back and forth, breathing heavily as he tried to figure out a way to murder this man without compromising the safety of Levi and anyone else this monster might be hiding. Peabody was the only one who knew where exactly they were being held, and he also knew that without him, Chase would never find Levi and the others.

This psycho of a man held all the power.

Chase jumped at the sound of Peabody suddenly crying out in pain.

Heart racing, Chase ran back to the kitchen to find Jared standing in front of Peabody and Peabody crying with a butcher knife sticking out of his thigh.

"What the?" Chase asked, rushing over to Jared's side.

"I got tired of this asshole's games. So, I stabbed him in the leg. My guess is that if I pull that knife out right now, you will bleed-out in a matter of minutes. So, tell me, numb nuts. Where the fuck is my little bro?"

Jared's eyes were blazing. Chase had never seen the man so angry. Apparently, they were all one big fucked-up family.

"What? What's going on?" Isaac huffed, out of breath and gasping for air. His eyes shot around the room, searching for the source of the scream.

He still clung to that fucking bottle.

"Nothing. Your boyfriend just lost his marbles," Chase said, waving his hand toward Jared, then turning his attention back to the stubborn man tied to a chair.

"Never!" the man growled through gritted teeth. Spit flew out of his mouth as his body shook with anger.

Apparently, Mr. Tough Old Man didn't like being stabbed in the leg.

"Are you sure about that?" Jared asked, twisting the knife a little further into the man's thigh.

Another cry of pain.

Chase smiled. Perhaps he had chosen the right partners… okay, partner, after all. Jared was a little cray-cray it seemed.

Deep in his jeans, Chase's cell phone buzzed, almost giving him a heart attack. He fished it out and stared at Matteo's number. He contemplated not answering. He wasn't sure if Matteo would understand that sometimes you needed to make a man bleed in order to make him talk.

Against his better judgment, Chase pressed the accept button. "Yeah?' he spoke into the phone.

"Chase?" There was a pause on the phone. "What's that noise?" Matteo asked after a moment.

"Nothing. Jared is getting to know Peabody's blood type."

"What? Oh, never mind. Look, I just spoke with Ares, who got a copy of the house's original floor plans."

"Original floor plans?" Chase asked, watching as Peabody's eyes went wide, and the man stopped screaming.

"Yeah. Apparently, back during the First World War, rich landowners feared that the Germans would invade and steal their riches. So, they had government officials alter their registered property plans to remove certain rooms and even parts of their homes."

"Really?" Chase asked, eyes narrowing in on the smug S.O.B. staring up at him.

"In Peabody's case, his ancestors had a whole section of their property removed from the blueprints."

"What section?" Chase asked.

"It was originally slave quarters, down in the basement. Looks like a huge underground network of rooms and tunnels, perfect for hiding captives you don't want found," Matteo explained.

"Jesus. Where are these fucking tunnels located?"

Jared and Isaac's heads popped up.

"There should be an entrance located in what is now the study."

"Perfect. I'll call you back later." Chase ended the call without giving Matteo a chance to respond. He looked over at his companions. "There's a secret door in the study that leads underground."

"You're wrong! There's nothing there! You'll never find your little bitch of a friend," the man shouted, thrashing against his confines once again.

Jared punched the fuming man in the face and watched as he slumped forward, unconscious.

"God, that felt good," Jared huffed with a smile plastered to his face.