Date: Sat, 26 Dec 2020 11:30:40 +0000
From: Isuccum <Isuccum@protonmail.ch>
Subject: Started at the busstop 42

I hope you all had a great Christmas and were able to find it in your heart
to give Nifty a present to help support the site.

Thank you to all those who read chapter 41 and wrote to me. Please keep it
up.

Started at the Bus Stop
Chapter 42

William had to work hard to calm Juliet down as he told her about the
events earlier that morning. Juliet was all for turning around and going
back home to do something. William managed to persuade her that their
father was doing all that they could do and being at school would help the
day to go faster. As it turned out they might just as well have stayed at
home for all that they were able to take in from their teachers. Neither of
them could stop thinking about Percy and what might be happening to him. At
lunch time William tried to phone Percy's mobile but got no answer. He left
a quick message asking Percy to call him when he could. Then he tried to
phone the Nisbett's land line; it too just rang with no answer.

Giving up on the phone, William went to join up with his friends. As he
joined them Juliet came up and asked, "Have you heard anything?"

"No, nothing. His phone and their home phone just don't get answered,"
William said.

"What are you guys talking about? Where's Percy?" Inky asked.

William told them what he knew, watching the shock grow on their faces. As
he related the story, Juliet phoned Adam to ask if he had managed to learn
anything through the solicitor. Adam told her that their solicitor had
advised they don't try to do anything, but to wait. This advice was given
as soon as Adam mentioned the address they had seen Percy taken to.

When they walked home from school, William and Juliet went straight past
their house and up to Percy's house. Their quest was thwarted as there was
still a police guard on the house. The officer on duty at the gateway told
them he couldn't tell them anything and they'd best go home and wait to
find out what happens. A dejected pair of teenagers trudged back home. When
they got home Clive was waiting and wanted to know why they were late and
where Percy was. He also immediately picked up that they were upset and
wanted to know what was wrong. William and Juliet sat him down and tried to
explain what had happened and that there was nothing they could do. Clive
became upset, his agitation growing. Juliet left him with William while she
went and called their father for advice. Adam said they just needed to be
calm themselves and keep Clive's mind occupied with other things.  With
that advice William got Clive to get on and do his homework, suggesting he
start with his maths because that would make Percy happy. It took a few
minutes of encouragement, but it worked, and soon Clive was concentrating
on getting his maths right.

Once Clive had finished his homework, Juliet asked him to help with getting
the evening meal ready. This succeeded in keeping Clive occupied and
relatively calm until Adam got home, but as soon as he walked through the
door, Clive was on him. "Daddy, what are we going to do for Percy?"

"I'm sorry, son. At this stage there's nothing we can do but wait. My
solicitor is making some enquiries. If he finds out anything, he'll call
me."

"But, Dad, what if they're hurting him?" Clive asked.

"I'm sure that they won't be hurting him, Clive. This is a police
operation. I'm sure it has something to do with Percy's father and that
Percy is innocent and will be released soon."

Dinner was eaten in a rather subdued atmosphere, and then all four sat in
the lounge watching television without a great deal of interest. At nine
o'clock Adam sent Clive to have his bath and get ready for bed. Once they
heard the bath water running, Adam turned to his older children and said,
"I don't know what's going to happen, but I want to assure you I will do
all I can to help Percy. If he needs somewhere to stay for a while you
don't need to ask me, he's welcome to stay here for however long he needs
to. Since I believe he is innocent, I'm guessing that he will be released
soon."

"Thanks, Dad. That means a lot to me," William said.

"It means a lot to me too," Juliet added.

"Percy means a lot to me. He's made a big difference in our lives and won
all of our hearts. He deserves all the help we can give him," Adam assured
them.

Their conversation dwindled again, and they returned to watching the telly
without paying much attention to it. However, their thoughts were disturbed
when the doorbell rang. William was quick to his feet and hurried to the
door. He didn't stop to look through the peep site, opening the door as
soon as he reached it.

"Hi. Do you think I could stay here tonight, please?" Percy asked.

"Of course you can! Come in," William said as he reached out a hand and
pulled Percy into a hug. "It's Percy!" he shouted out.

Juliet and Adam both got up to go through and see him. As they did there
was rumble and a very wet and entirely naked Clive came rushing down the
stairs calling out, "Percy, Percy, are you okay? What did they do to you?"

"I'm okay, but they won't let me into my house. They say the investigation
is still going on," Percy replied.

"Have they given you something to eat?" Juliet moved into her mother and
hostess mode.

"They gave me a sandwich at lunch time when I complained I was hungry and
then some more sandwiches a few hours ago. But I'm still hungry," Percy
answered.

"Clive, go upstairs and finish your bath; you're making a big mess here on
the floor," Adam ordered. "You can come back and talk to Percy once you've
finished. Come through to the lounge and sit down, Percy."

Once in the lounge Juliet asked, "How does bacon, egg and chips sound?"

"Like caviar on toast," Percy replied.

"Well, at least you've still got a sense of humour," Adam said. "Do you
know what any of this is about?"

"They wouldn't tell me anything, and I haven't seen Mum or Dad since they
took me away this morning. They've still got my phone and laptop, and I
don't know what they're doing or looking for at the house."

"Well you can stay here with us as long as you need to, and you can use my
clothes until we can you get you some of yours," William said.

Percy looked over at Adam, who quickly responded, "Yes, you're staying with
us until we can get this mess sorted out. What all did they do to you while
they had you? William get a pad and make some notes. I don't know if it
will be needed, but we might as well be prepared."

"I'll try to remember it in order. When I answered the door, I had only
just pulled on this pair of shorts. Then the policeman took the phone out
of my hand and passed it back to someone else, who put it in a bag. A bunch
of people then ran into the house and began to spread out all over it. I
heard them shouting at dad in his study and a couple of people told me to
show them where my room was. I took them up and they seized my laptop and
told me to get dressed. One of the officers was a woman so I wasn't going
to change into trousers in front of her and I just pulled on this
shirt. They took me back downstairs and told me to put some shoes on and
then they put the cuffs on me and took me out to the van. The van looks
like it's got windows but you can't see out at all once they close the
doors. They made me sit on a cold seat and then locked the handcuffs to a
pole. I have no idea where they took me, but I know when they got me out
the van it was inside some building. I got taken to this room with no
windows, just one of those one-way mirror things and a door. I got told to
sit in a chair and my cuffs were locked to a thing on the table. It was
cold and I needed to pee but they just left me there. I couldn't twist my
arm enough to look at my watch to see the time but when they came back, I
asked to go for a pee. They undid the cuffs and left them locked on the
table; but then cuffed me to an officer who took me to pee. I had to do the
pee while he stood beside me and watched." Percy bowed his head for a bit
while he regained control. The others remained silent while he
talked. William dropped his pad into his lap and put his arm around Percy
to give him an encouraging squeeze.


Before Percy could start again, a whirlwind in the form of a now dried and
dressed Clive rushed into the lounge. "What did they do to you?"

"Percy was just telling us. You need to sit quietly and listen. Let Percy
talk in his own time," Adam told Clive. "When you're ready, Percy."

"I did get a chance to look at my watch when they locked me back to the
table. It was twenty past seven. They left me alone again and I just had to
sit there on a hard metal chair. I wasn't able to move much and it was very
uncomfortable. By the time they came back again I needed to pee even though
I'd not had anything to drink since before I went to bed last night. It was
the same thing again; I had to piss while the guy watched."

When he saw that Clive was about to say something, Adam quickly put his
finger up and stopped him, allowing Percy to continue.

"I saw that it was now nearly nine. This time they didn't leave me, but
began to ask questions. I didn't even understand the questions,
really. Things like `Where do you get the information from?' and `Do you go
on your parents' computers?' They kept on badgering me and I kept on
telling them I didn't know anything. I tried asking about my parents, but
they wouldn't tell me anything. I don't know how long they kept on at me
but all of a sudden they just turned the tape machine off and walked out,
leaving me still locked to the table."

Percy spent a few moments regaining his composure again before
continuing. "When they came back there was a different person with the guy
who had taken me to the loo. This guy had a file in his hand which he
slammed down on the table and then he shouted at me that they knew from my
computer that I had been helping my parents with what they've been doing. I
denied it and he called me a liar and said it would be best for me if I
just told them the truth. When I said I was telling the truth he slammed
his fist onto the table and warned me that things would get really bad for
me if I didn't tell them what I knew. It was horrible. I told them I wanted
a lawyer, and they said they didn't need to get me one so I was on my own."
Again, Percy had to stop.

"I think you need to take a little break. Let's see if Juliet has got
something ready for you," Adam said.

"I have," Juliet said as she entered the room with a plate on a tray that
Percy could just rest on his lap. She passed it over to him and then asked,
"What would you like to drink?"

"Could I be cheeky and ask for a glass of water first and then some juice.
They only gave me one glass of water to drink with each lot of sandwiches."

"That's not cheeky, that's being at home," Juliet said and nipped out of
the room to return moments later with two glasses.

As soon as Percy started eating, he discovered just how hungry he was and
for the next quarter of an hour he didn't speak as he satisfied the need of
his stomach. The Chestertons sat patiently while he ate. Adam realised just
how much he had been deprived by those who had held him through the day and
determined to speak to his solicitor about it to see if anything could be
done about it.

Eventually Percy took up his tale again. "I was left again with no
information for hours. No water, no food and I think if I hadn't complained
I still would not have been given anything to eat or drink. I did manage to
twist my arm and could just see my watch so I could tell the time every so
often. It hurt to twist my arm so I didn't do it that much. They didn't
come back till nearly three and that's when I complained about being hungry
and one of the guys was sent out to get me something. He came back with a
sandwich and I still had to ask again for a drink before they brought me
some water. This time round they tried to get me to confess to things,
claiming I might as well as my parents were telling them all about it. I
knew they were lying because I haven't done anything like what they were
suggesting, and I told them that. I asked after my parents again and got
told to forget about them as I would likely never see them again." Percy
had to stop again as he held back a sob. Clearly this ordeal had been very
hard on him.

After a few moments Percy continued. "I told them that as I knew they were
lying and trying to trick me I was not going to say anything more until I
had a lawyer. The nasty guy told me I was being very stupid and my refusal
to co-operate would make the judge give me a heavier sentence. I told them
they would have to prove me guilty which they couldn't. From then on I just
answered with `Ask my lawyer' every time they asked me anything. At six I
told them I was still hungry and thirsty and I was sure they had broken the
law by the way I'd been treated. So the other guy was sent out to get me
another sandwich and a cup of water. After I'd eaten they left me on my own
again. When they came back they undid the cuffs and led me out to a van
again. I still couldn't see out and they didn't say what was happening. The
next thing I knew they dropped me off outside my house and left."

"You mean that they didn't even check that you could get inside your
house?" Adam asked.

"They didn't even tell the cops at the gateway that I could go inside. So I
haven't been able to get anything to use or my key for the house."

"Well, I'm sure you can borrow some of William's clothes until you can get
home. And I've got a new toothbrush that's still in its packaging you can
have. I'll get hold of the solicitor tomorrow and see what we can
do. William, go and type up your notes. Email them to me so I can send them
on to the lawyer from work. If you think of anything else that might be
important tell us and we'll add it to the notes," Adam said.

"I have a question," William began. "If your hands were cuffed to the
table, how did you eat and drink?"

"When they brought my food to me, they would release just my left hand
because they had already worked out that I'm right-handed. I had to eat
with just the one hand. It was awkward. Same when I went to the loo, they
cuffed my right hand to my keeper. Good job I didn't have to undo a fly,"
Percy said and smiled for the first time since he had stepped into their
home.

"I know it's still a little early, but you've had a terrible day and I can
see that you're quite tired. I think you'd probably do best to get in a
bath and then go to bed. Juliet, could you sort out a towel for Percy,
please, and William, get him some clean clothes to wear. Clive, can you put
Percy's clothes into the wash so they are clean for him when he needs them,
please. William, get onto typing up your notes so that you're done by the
time Percy needs to get into bed." Adam knew that each of his children
needed something to do to help Percy.  All three went off to do what their
father had asked without a murmur.

Half an hour later Percy went back downstairs to thank Adam and say
goodnight. William had Percy read his notes before he sent them off to his
father's email. Percy stripped off and got into bed as William went to let
his father know that he had sent the notes off and then get his bath
in. Despite the turmoil going on inside Percy's head, his exhaustion had
won over and he was asleep by the time William got back to his room.
William stripped off and carefully climbed into bed, trying his hardest not
disturb his boyfriend. Percy didn't budge, but when William gave him a kiss
on his cheek and put his arm around him, he felt Percy relax a bit.