It's A Thankless Job: Part...like...8? TW: Drugging, rape

Sentry wasn't used to this level of opulence, at least not without Tomi there warning him and Orin to mind themselves while she made sure Jackal and Gabraela didn't say anything strange or off putting to the press. Attending something like this as Gortash's date was apparently something Gary had patently refused to do and it actually caused a little swell of pride in Sentry that he could fill a role his big brother never could. Finally, something that was just his. “Don't be afraid to wander, drink. Have fun. Everyone knows you're here with me, dear Sentry, so if you get bored while I'm dealing with campaign donors or press, feel free to slip away. You'll find this a very plentiful hunting ground.” Enver had assured the tiefling, kissing the back of his neck gently as they had gotten ready for their evening. “Aww, you know me so well, Envy....Can I call you Envy?” Sentry teased, grinning from ear to ear as he raisedup his phone to take a selfie. Gortash smiled fondly at the younger man. “Sure, if you like.” Gary had never been fond of nicknames, it felt so normal, so much like an ordinary couple thing to exchange them. He dared to think maybe things would be different with Sentry, more time spent together, more open affection. When the two of them arrived at the event, Sentry was surprised to be held close around the waist when photos were snapped, rather than pushed to the side or told to go busy himself listening in on conversations. He was visible, and he liked it. This was, he imagined, what it must be like to be prized lion on display, beautiful and adored, but deadly all the same in ways nobody quite seemed to notice, well, not until it would be too late at least.

“Yes, Mr. Sentry Ojeda is my date tonight. We recently started seeing eachother. He's an excellent artist.” Gortash was telling some reporter or another. Sentry smiled at that. Not some dirty secret, not arm candy. That felt good. He slipped away to go get a drink, might as well ride this high the rest of the evening and enjoy himself. As he grabbed a glass of what looked to be rather expensive champagne, he noticed a pretty woman in a red sequined gown watching him. Her long black curls hung freely over her shoulders unlike most of the women here who wore their hair up, and her expression was one of amusement. She was quite a bit shorter than Sentry, Dwarvish by the look of her. “Um...can I help you?” Sentry raised a brow, taking a sip of his champagne. “Maybe. I noticed Enver has taken an interest in you. That little fact has made my employer quite interested as well.” The woman replied, her painted red lips curling into a dangerous smile as she looked Sentry over. “Oh, sweetheart, I'm not working tonight. I'm Envy's date and I can't be bothered with anyone else. But here's my card. Some other time.” Sentry smirked, shaking his head as he handed the woman a black card with a red skull embossed on it alongside his social media handles. “He won't take long, he just wants to discuss an opportunity with you.” The woman persisted. “You won't even need to leave the building.” “Huh....you really don't understand the word 'no', do you?” Sentry chuckled. “Okay, fine, I'm in a good mood, what the hells. Let's meet this guy who's so important he needs to interrupt my evening. Lead the way.” The Bhaalspawn shrugged, following the woman as she led him further into the crowd.

Sentry's nose wrinkled as he followed the woman towards a corner of the room. His finely honed senses from paladin training back at the church of Ilmater sensed something of The Hells. As a Tiefling, that shouldn't have been inherently worrying but he thought back to what mum had said about the different auras. If he had to guess, he clocked the aura as belonging to a Cambion. That tracked, after all, where would a devil who specialized in bargains be more at home than a political fundraiser. He downed his champagne perhaps a bit quicker than he should and grabbed another glass from a passing waiter as the aura grew stronger.

Two quickly swallowed drinks later, Sentry found himself face to face with a man, average height and build, dressed in a designer blue suit, one of those that cost more than Sentry could ever imagine paying for an article of clothing, his brown hair slicked back and oiled, an expensive gold watch on his wrist. He called to mind the average client Sentry might see after hours in some oversized office. Someone out of one of those gods awful porn novels for bored housewives who've never met a real dom much less spoken to one. His scent was overwhelmingly of cherries and fine brandy but with just an unsettling hint of something foul. Sulfur.

“Ah, Mr. Ojeda. A pleasure to meet you.” The man's voice was smooth, like good liquor that went down just a bit too easy. “Uh-huh. Pleasure's all yours. So who are you that's so important you couldn't wait?” Sentry snorted flippantly, rolling his eyes. He realized there was another drink in his hand, now how did that get there? He took a sip, just a nip for courage, he'd slow down soon, he should be in his right mind if this guy really was a Cambion, and he was getting more certain of that by the second as the paladinic sense rang like alarm bells in his head. The man simply smiled, danger behind that look, glinting in those brown eyes. “Of course, how rude of me.” He chuckled a bit. “You can call me Raphael.” Why was that name familiar? It was nagging at the back of Sentry's brain, but a pleasant numbness was coming over his mind as those rapidly slugged drinks started to catch up with him. Things felt just a bit blurry, time seemed to crawl by and then spin rapidly past. Was this room always so red and gold? He was sure the event venue had been marble...Hadn't it? His hand went to his forehead. He wasn't feeling very well, had it always been this hot in the venue? Was it this stupid suit? No, that didn't make sense, his hoodie was warmer than a suit and he wore that all the time. Where did everyone go? “Oh, it looks like you're not feeling well, Mr. Ojeda. Perhaps you should take a moment to sit down.” That guy, Raphael, was talking again. Sit down where? Sentry hadn't seen any chairs. Oh...wait...He looked behind him to find a gold chair with a plush red cushion, slowly sinking into it. “Yeah...Okay...Just for a minute, though....Must have wandered off into some weird meeting room. Did I come in here to meet you? I swear you were just in the ballroom with everyone else...” Sentry struggled to focus.

“You're simply in my office at the moment, so to speak. Think of me as a very generous benefactor in your partner's campaign.” Raphael explained. There was a touch of theatrics to his voice, like he was reciting a monologue he'd rehearsed, but then again, rich people were weird, Sentry and his friends always agreed when they discussed his clients. “Uh-huh...so...whu....what's't got t'do with me?” Sentry asked, stumbled over his words, vision swimming in and out of focus.

“Well, my friend, like any benefactor, I'm so much more generous when there's something in it for me.” The Cambion was now sitting in a chair eye to eye with Sentry. He...wasn't red before. He definitely wasn't wearing his true form before. “My, you really don't look well, boy...Maybe it's best if you lie down for a bit? We can discuss what you can do for me later.” He smirked nastily, those sharp teeth visible. Sentry's mind swam. That didn't sound like something a Cambion would do, just let someone rest out of concern, especially without laying a deal on the table, the whole thing set alarm bells ringing through Sentry's entire being, but he was so dizzy, lying down sounded really good right now, maybe he would just...

Sentry gripped the sheets beneath him. When had he gotten into bed? Why did an office have a bed? He whimpered softly as pain shot through his thighs, something sharp digging into them. As his mind awoke to the pain, he was also aware of a painful stretching feeling between his legs. Someone was on top of him. Red skin, dark hair, a cruel smirk. Was this the same guy? He struggled weakly, his limbs heavy from the alcohol, his movements sluggish and weak. Those claws moved to his wrists, grabbing them and pinning them above his head. “Ah ah, little mouse, don't struggle like that.” The figure above him leaned down and ran his tongue along Sentry's neck. The Tiefling winced and squirmed, eyes closed tightly as a little whine escaped his lips. “It...it hurts...” Sentry gasped, tears welling in the corners of his eyes. “Aww, don't tell me I'm bigger than Enver. I expected he'd have gone through a growth spurt since the last time I had him.” The man chuckled nastily, licking the tears from Sentry's face. “And what happened to that tough guy front you're so fond of, pet? Maybe the whole Bhaalist persona really IS just for show.” He taunted, squeezing Sentry's wrists tighter as his hips thrust forward, drilling deeper into the tiefling, causing him to cry out as the demon's cock bottomed out inside him.

Sentry's brain tried to make his body move, tried to force the power of a smiting spell into his hands, but he couldn't, the dizzy, swimming feeling still overpowered him and all he could do was struggle pitifully. This guy was right, he was a little mouse...caught up in a trap and waiting to die. A cry of frustration filled the air and eventually he gave up struggling. It was like back in the tenement again when he was so small, too small to fight back. That left him with only one thing to fall back on as he felt the painful thrusts rocking his body, his wrists bleeding from the sharp claws dug into them. He remembered how he'd gotten through it back then and he stared blankly ahead, just past the body on top of him, emptying his mind. Mercifully, the booze haze helped with that. He was only vaguely aware of the taunting voice, the grunts and moans of pleasure, his own heavy breathing hitched with the occasional sob.

He didn't know how long it went on for, he only knew that when he mind slid back into focus, he was breathless, face soaked in tears, a mess of blood and seed between his legs leaking out over his thighs. He wasn't in the bed anymore and he was now aware of the feeling of cold concrete against his back and rain pouring down on him. His clothes were long gone and he had no idea where exactly he was as he staggered shakily to his feet, swaying as he tried to right himself. Immediately when he lifted his head, he found himself doubling over again and heaving as he vomited onto the pavement. He groaned in discomfort, clutching his gut as he braced himself against the wall, breathing heavily. His vision was slowly swimming back into focus and he was starting to pick up on a few familiar things just outside the alleyway he'd been dumped in. Sharess' Caress was just across the way, Wysp or Ffion would of course help him, but what if they were with clients? He didn't want to disturb them with this, to risk their jobs. Besides, how exactly was he going to get across the street without being seen? Someone would call The Fist. Sentry didn't trust those bastards as far as he could throw them (Which in his line of work, he'd found was actually surprisingly not far.)

“Tsk'va! What happened, are you alright?” A gentle voice gasped. Sentry turned around and was suddenly aware of a slender Githyanki woman, probably around his age. She wore a blue ribbon in her pale blonde hair and was dressed in a long blue coat over a simple violet blouse and white skirt. She was carrying and umbrella delicately in her hands and she hurried over to Sentry, quickly removing her coat and throwing it over his shoulders. “Thanks...I...I'm fine...I just need to get home.” He managed, looking away, embarrassed at this stranger fussing over him. “Please, my brother runs a free clinic. Something terrible has clearly happened to you and you need help....” The young woman offered. Sentry stepped back, a doctor would want to involve The Fist, Sentry just wasn't willing to risk that. He had to think of something to convince this woman to leave, that he would be alright. The way she looked at him, though, she wasn't likely to drop this easily. Then it hit him. “One of my partners is a doctor too, I should really have him come get me, do you have a phone?” The woman frowned, searching Sentry's face as though trying to decide if he was telling the truth. But she nodded gently. “Okay, yes, I understand you'd want someone you can trust. Of course.” She reached into the pocket of her skirt, quickly unlocked her phone, and handed it to Sentry. “But please at least let me wait here with you until he arrives, alright?” Fucking do-gooders. But Sentry nodded softly. “Yeah...thanks...Appreciate it....”

--- “Ugh...Can't you ignore it?” The pale, handsome man currently kneeling in front of Halsin rolled his eyes as he pulled back from him. Halsin gave a small, guilty frown, hazel eyes apologetic, and shook his head. “After hours my personal phone takes emergency calls from my patients...I can't.” He turned away from his current partner and walked over to the table he'd left his phone on. The elf tried to hide the hurt in his red eyes behind a look of annoyance, but it was difficult. Halsin wasn't a client or a mark for him like so many others, after all. A pang of jealousy crossed his face when he saw Halsin's expression become one of worry and watched as he began to hurriedly redress. “Wait...Where are you going?” He demanded, brow furrowing. “It's my other partner, he's in trouble and I need to go.” Halsin replied, looking at his current lover, hoping for understanding. “Star, you understand, right? I'd do the same for you?” Astarion rolled his eyes, folding his arms across his chest and trying to hide the sting of rejection. “Fine....Of course. I'll just see myself out.” He began to get dressed, smoothing a hand through his soft, white hair. “No hard feelings of course, we both know what this is.” “You don't have to go....You can stay the night...” Halsin offered gently, crossing the room and placing his hands softly on his lover's shoulders. “I'd never force you to leave...” Astarion gave a little chuckle and shook his head. “And then you'd be stuck with me until sundown tomorrow. You couldn't handle it, darling.” He smirked. “Besides, what will I do if your...companion...comes in all bloody? We can pick this up tomorrow night when I'm through working.” He ran his fingers over Halsin's arms playfully and leaned in, kissing him rather possessively. “You know me, I like to be the center of attention.”

Halsin walked Astarion to the door, squeezing his hand gently and giving him another apologetic look as they parted ways. The druid preferred walking, but he knew with the condition Sentry had said he was in, it might be necessary to drive. Luckily, Nettie never minded if he borrowed her van and she always left her keys on a hook behind the reception desk. He made his way to the old green vehicle and hopped into the driver seat, making his way towards Sharess' Caress. He drove probably a bit faster than he meant to, but he pulled up quickly beside the alleyway, grabbing some blankets from the back of the van and hurrying over to where Sentry was standing beside a concerned looking Githyanki woman. “Thank you, Octavia. I've got him.” Halsin inclined his head gently towards the young woman. “Wait, you know her?” Sentry asked, looking back and forth between the two. “Her brother runs a free clinic, we use a lot of the same suppliers for basic medical supplies, I helped him get set up with them when their family first arrived here.” Halsin explained as he wrapped a blanket around Sentry as the Tiefling passed Octavia's coat and phone back to her. “Are you sure you'll be alright?” She asked, her blue eyes wide with concern. “Yeah, thanks...” Sentry nodded. “Okay, well if you need anything, Halsin's got my number and my brother's.” She hesitated just a moment before turning and slowly walking out of the alley. “Thank you for coming...I really didn't want to go somewhere that might call The Fist...” Sentry mumbled, Pulling the blanket tighter around his body. His face flushed with embarrassment as he fought back the tears stinging his eyes, threatening to start falling again. He told himself he was just angry, just humiliated, and nothing else. There was nothing anyone could do to him that the cult hadn't done worse before he was even old enough to understand. He told himself he was being a child, that this reaction was silly, comparatively it wasn't even on par with the things Sarevok and Jackal had done to him. Still, he felt his breath hitch with a sob as Halsin guided him gently to the van.

Back at Halsin's place, Sentry found himself in a warm bath, soaps and oils set out on the edge of the simple, old fashioned tub. It was a far cry from the luxury of Enver's palatial bathroom with a bath the size of a small swimming pool cut into the floor, but it was grounding, it felt safe. Halsin sat a few feet away on a small bench that sat in front of the mirror and sink. “If you want my help washing, you only need to ask. But I understand if you would rather not be touched right now. I can give you your space.” The druid offered softly. Sentry looked at him for a moment and then looked back to the items laid out along the edge of the tub. He slowly, shakily, began to wash himself. His skin ached, angry red lacerations from those claws, bruises from being gripped too hard. Shame roiled in his stomach, how could he have not fought back? Why did he let this happen. Weak. Unworthy. The tears threatened to spill again. He noticed that Halsin wasn't looking at him, simply staring through the door into the darkened hallway beyond. His expression neutral, no judgment. Knowing his eyes weren't on him made things a bit easier and Sentry let the tears flow silently down his face, pulling his knees to his chest as his body shook with silent sobs.

He stayed in the bath for an hour or more until the tears stopped and until his body finally felt at least somewhat clean. Halsin had laid out a soft forest green robe for him and a set of simple green flannel pajamas. A soft white towel hung over the clothes that had been so carefully laid out and Sentry wrapped it around himself, drying himself off before slowly, shakily beginning to dress. When he made his way down the hall to the bedroom, he noticed Halsin was curled up on the floor with a pillow and blanket, there was a cup of tea set on the nightstand beside the bed and the covers had been pulled back welcomingly for Sentry. With a sigh, he climbed into bed, pulling the covers up over himself and curling up as small as he could, eyes closed tightly.

--- Enver paced the floor of his penthouse anxiously. He hadn't slept yet, not that that was anything new, but he also hadn't worked on any of his projects either. Sentry had disappeared. This was the same thing that happened the night Gary had died and he couldn't take it happening again. He thought of the way they had found him days later, mutilated and bloodied. He thought of finding Sentry the same way. No, he couldn't think like that. There was no sign of Sentry yet, he could still be alive, he had to be, it had only been a few hours. His eyes darted to the whiskey decanter on the other side of the room. A drink to soothe his nerves, maybe? No. He needed to be sober for this. He couldn't risk dulling his senses while Sentry might be in trouble. He slumped down onto the couch with a defeated sigh, burying his face in his hands. The horrible idea that perhaps the tiefling had vanished of his own accord ate at his mind as well and a small sick part of him said that that would be worse than if he were dead. “Um...sir?” The half-orc's voice interrupted his panic. “Speak quickly, Serf. My patience is at a premium tonight.” Enver glared. “So Valda finished speaking to the guests and she brought back a report. This is the last person your date was seen speaking to.” He produced a file from his jacket and passed it to Enver. Gortash rose to his feet and crossed to the whiskey. He was going to need that drink now. A smug face smirked up at him from a photograph, cruelty behind those charming dark eyes and sharp features. It was a face he knew all too well, a ghost from his past. A devil he knew.