Chapter 3
After another successful job, Yondu had decided to give the crew a couple days’ leave. Peter was excited because the planet they were landing on had several major ship dealers. He wanted to look around, get an idea for what he wanted (and maybe drop some totally obvious hints to his dad).
The first night, though, as always, the Ravagers got drunk. Peter played poker with some of the other men, surprisingly adept at the card game. He was an awful liar, but somehow he consistently emptied the pockets of the Ravagers who were naive enough to play against him. He’d just laid down a straight flush when someone set a drink down in front of him- he wasn’t terribly well-versed in alcohol, but he knew it was a beer or an ale. He looked at it confusedly. He knew he definitely didn’t look old enough to drink. The bouncer had barely let Peter in, only reluctantly allowing him entrance with the promise from Yondu that he’d be well-looked after. So why was someone getting him a drink?
He looked up, and his heart dropped. The drink was from Oro.
“Hey, Pete. Consider this an apology for the whole pancakes thing,” Oro said, with a grin that looked more like a leer.
“Thanks,” Peter said, because he couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Well? You gonna drink it?” Oro asked impatiently. Peter gave a small shrug, turning to Yondu. The Centaurian wasn’t playing poker (he knew better than to bet against Peter) but he was seated close enough to have witnessed the conversation.
“Kid's thirteen. Not tonight,” Yondu drawled. Peter breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly feeling exhausted. He was pretty tired of constantly being in fear of Oro accosting him. He tried to ignore the feeling, focusing on the game. He lost a few rounds, and won several more before Yondu noticed he was out of sorts.
“You okay, son?"
"'M fine. Just a bit tired," Peter said. He didn't have to fake the yawn that followed.
"Might be it’s about time for you to head back to the ship, kid,” Yondu said with a note of concern. “Kraglin, walk him back, wouldja?” Yondu called. Kraglin jumped up, not quite drunk but more than a little tipsy. He swayed from side to side a bit as he walked over to Yondu and Peter.
"I can walk myself," Peter muttered.
"Kind of a seedy town, Pete. I'd rather you didn't."
“Come on, Petey,” Kraglin slurred. “Le’s go!” Yondu snorted. He was way too drunk to walk Peter back.
“Never mind, Kraglin. I’ll take him,” Yondu said.
“I’ll walk ‘im back, Cap’n,” Oro offered. Yondu gave him a shrewd look. The man was relatively new to the crew, and he’d only been around a few months. He seemed like a good worker though, and other than the odd incident in the galley the other day, he seemed nice enough.
“That okay, Pete?” he asked quietly. Peter nodded, feeling sick. He knew if he told Yondu, the whole problem would be over in a minute... He couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t do it.
Yondu sent him on his way with a pat on the back and a promise to stop by some of the dealerships the next day. Peter tried to focus on that rather than on who he was with, but it was becoming harder and harder for him to think.
“I didn't tell them," he said weakly. Oro chuckled, grabbing him roughly by the shoulder.
“Yeah, that was pretty stupid of you. Means no one'll even know to be suspicious.”
"Suspicious of what?" Peter asked, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice.
"You know, it would have been a lot easier if Yondu would've let you have the drink. Would'a knocked you out, nice and easy. Can't say I didn't try to be nice."
“You dick,” Peter managed to say before Oro punched him solidly in the face, knocking him out.
When he woke up, he was in some sort of holding cell.
“Hello!” he called. “Anyone there?” A guard appeared immediately.
“Be quiet,” the man said idly, but there was no malice in his tone. Peter took a deep breath.
“Sure,” he said. “Sure, I can be quiet, only I was wonderin’ if you could tell me how I got here?” The man sighed.
“Boss said you were valuable. He bought you off of some Ravager. Plans on selling you to the highest bidder.” Peter swallowed hard.
“So I’m gonna be a slave?” The man shrugged.
“You’re pretty scrawny. You’ll be some sort of pet, more like. What did you say you were again?”
“I didn’t,” Peter said shortly. Yondu always tried to pass Peter off as Xandarian, and it worked for folks who didn’t look too close. Being Terran was dangerous, especially in this part of the galaxy, where it was rare.
If Peter got out of here, he’d tell Yondu he was right every day for a month.
“Suit yourself, kid,” the guard said, moving to walk away.
“Wait!” Peter said desperately. He tried to calm down a bit. “How’s about you let me go, huh? Just slip me a key, point me towards the exit, and nobody has to get hurt,” he said. The guard laughed.
“What, you think you can hurt me?”
“No,” Peter said honestly. “But my dad will. You ever heard of Yondu Udonta?” The guard paused for a moment, recognizing the name.
“You don’t look Centaurian to me,” he said carefully. Peter rolled his eyes.
“I’m adopted, jackass.” The guard shook his head, obviously not believing him.
“Yeah, right. You’re tellin’ me the Captain of the Ravagers adopted you.” Peter shrugged.
“Whatever man. Your funeral. Oh, and I do mean that literally,” he added. The guard paused, as if he was about to say something, then stopped as someone else walked into the room. He was tall, and old, with dark blue skin. He wore a black leather jacket, and his whole demeanor screamed danger.
“Ah, the little Terran’s up, is he? Good. He must be bathed and dressed before tonight.”
“If you brought me back, I bet my dad would pay you whatever you think you’ll get for me. And that’d save you from getting’ an arrow through your neck, too,” Peter added. The man laughed coldly.
“Cute. But that’s your one free pass. Any more of that mouth, I might not feel so generous. Got it?” he asked in a dangerous voice. Peter nodded quickly. As much as Yondu and the rest of the Ravagers tried to shelter him, he’d met men like this before, and they were dangerous. For once in his life, he did the smart thing, and he shut his mouth.
"Captain," Horuz said quietly. "There's something you gotta know." Yondu raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah?"
"I'da told you before, but the boy wanted to take care of it himself." Yondu narrowed his eyes.
"The fuck you talkin' about?"
"I ain't sure... but I think maybe Oro's hurtin' him. He gets real uneasy around him, Captain."
"Shit," Yondu swore furiously, jumping up and heading for the door. "Why the hell didn't you say something sooner?"
"I wasn't sure. Tried to get him to talk to me, but he didn't seem too keen on my help." Yondu was too furious to form words. The fucker had known, and done nothing? He thought about putting an arrow through his first mate's skull, but he didn't have time for that. He needed to find Peter.
Plus, something told him that maybe he'd be a little less upset with Horuz when his anger found the proper source.
Back on the ship, he checked Peter's room first.
Okay, that’s not the end of the world, Yondu told himself when he found it empty. Peter’s old cot was still in Yondu’s room, and Peter slept in it occasionally, usually after a nightmare. Or he could be in the mess, getting a midnight snack- that was a pretty regular occurrence, too. He could even be hiding out in the vents- when he was little, it was his go-to spot when he was scared, but now, Peter often liked it for the silence. Yondu tried to tamp down on his steadily increasing panic.
Yondu checked all of these places, and he came up short. He decided to comm him.
“Peter?” He got no answer. “Peter, you better pick up if you know what’s good for you. Peter?” He got no answer. “Peter Jason Quill!” he bellowed, trying to tamp down his panic. He ran down to the bunks where the junior crew members stayed. He cursed loudly in Centaurian. Oro’s bunk was empty. Whatever he’d done with Peter, he hadn’t planned on returning to the Eclector, period.
“Horuz?” The other man picked up immediately.
“Captain?”
“Horuz, Oro's taken him somewhere. Take whoever’s sober enough and search the city.”
“Aye, Captain,” Horuz said promptly. He knew he'd gotten off lightly with Yondu, and he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“Cap’n!” Kraglin called, running out of the bar. Remarkably, he seemed to have sobered up in the last twenty minutes. If there was anyone as concerned about Peter as Yondu, it would be Kraglin. “Have you seen him?”
“Not since he left the bar,” Yondu said grimly. “You know anything about Oro? Where he might have taken him?” Kraglin shrugged helplessly. “His bunk’s empty. Whatever he did, he knew he wasn’t gonna be welcome back on the ship.”
“I’ll search the docks. You search the city,” Kraglin said. If it were any other time, Yondu might have chided him for giving the Captain orders, but he had more important things to deal with. Besides, Kraglin’s plan was solid. Oro would probably want to escape before his misdeed was discovered.
“Captain, I’ve got him!” Horuz called over the comms. Yondu fumbled with the button.
“You got Peter? How is he?” he asked urgently. There was a pause.
“Sorry, Captain. I meant Oro.” Yondu wanted to strangle him, but he managed to compose himself.
“Is he talkin’?”
“Not a word.” Yondu smiled grimly.
“Bring him my way. We’ll have to fix that.”