A psychopath and his victims
At the prison, which was three hours' of drive away from the school, there was a man who today was both furious and well satisfied at the same time.
The man was 52 years old and his name was Brock Rumlow.
For six years, he had been incarcerated and basically done nothing but look forward to being able to move freely again.
Brock Rumlow was a well-trained, good-looking man who could be very charming when he wanted to.
Whether he wanted to do so depended on what advantages and pleasures he himself could obtain by acting. Rumlow's kindness was actually nothing more than acting.
For many years, he had been able to deceive, exploit and abuse both his boyfriends and other people he considered easy victims.
Of course, some of Rumlow's actions towards other people had had consequences for him. Anything else would almost be strange.
But there had never been talk of anything more serious than fines, a couple of short prison stays of a few weeks and a case of a restraining order.
But then, he had met and started a relationship with a somewhat younger man.
For Rumlow's part, things had started very well.
The other man had been an easy victim. He had had no experience whatsoever with people like Brock Rumlow, and had trusted him.
They had been dating and getting closer and closer to each other.
All the time without the man realizing what Rumlow was really like. Until he had been trapped in the net that Rumlow used to trap his victims in.
The then 32-year-old Tony Stark had had no idea who he had actually gotten together with.
He had seen the somewhat older man Brock Rumlow as a charming and attentive boyfriend who wanted a serious relationship.
They had moved in together relatively early, and in the beginning everything had been fine. Thought Tony.
He had felt seen, loved, and safe. Brock was a master at bringing out those feelings in others. If he wanted to. As long as he wanted.
He himself, on the other hand, had thought that he had found his simplest, most naïve and also most profitable victim yet. Tony had a secure, steady and fairly well-paid job.
He was conscientious and orderly. He had missed a boyfriend and really wanted to invest in his relationship with this man. Full throttle for a psychopath like Brock. What else can you call a man like him?
In short. Slowly but surely, the happy, sociable and quite confident Tony changed. He got nervous. Uncertain. Smiled less often. But he fell all the more often and hurt himself. Officially.
Brock Rumlow came across as the caring boyfriend. Typical of a man like him. Outwardly, he was kind and nice. At home with Tony, he was the exact opposite.
When Tony became pregnant after one of the many rapes he was subjected to by his "boyfriend", even Brock had to restrain himself. Not because of Tony and the baby. Not at all. But he was not interested in being in the spotlight for abuse again.
What he didn't know was that there was someone who had become suspicious. Tony's best friend James Rhodes and his wife Maria Hill.
They had been worried about Tony for a long time and tried to talk to him. But Tony had denied that anything was wrong. First, because he thought everything was fine between him and Brock.
Later because he was far too scared and insecure.
When Tony became pregnant, they became even more worried, but they couldn't do more. Nothing more than trying to maintain contact with Tony and keep an eye on him and the baby.
But then the real disaster had struck. What had changed everything. Brock Rumlow had, after being intoxicated on both alcohol and drugs, completely lost his temper and abused Tony so severely that he had been in the hospital for several weeks.
Rumlow hadn't really meant to be so rough on Tony. For his own part, mind you. Nor had he believed that his boyfriend would dare to tell anyone what had really happened. The years with Rumlow had made him very subjugated.
However, due to the extensive injuries and the fact that Tony had been pregnant at the time, Rumlow's actions had more serious consequences than before.
Tony had lost the baby, and that was probably what had made him tell the doctors and the police what had happened. Thus, Brock Rumlow was in the trap and had to serve time in prison for the abuse.
Now, however, he was a free man again. Ready to find his ex-boyfriend and let him know that Brock Rumlow was back. He hadn't quite decided if he was going to do anything to him yet, or if he was going to settle for playing with his fears. Either way, he was going to find him.
The man who had sent him to prison.
Tony Stark.