Eviternity: Book 1 Jerry's World

Eleven

Aldrich

Breakfast eaten, husband kissed, children hugged, Aldrich was on his way to work before the sun had fully pulled itself above the line of the horizon. His workplace was a half hour walk, but he enjoyed it. It kept him fit and gave him some time to himself to think.

The early morning air was cool, but not cold, and he took a deep breath, relishing in the slight breeze that tugged at his light brown hair. People had always told Aldrich that he was a handsome man and with his strong jaw, neatly trimmed beard, and pale green eyes, he was inclined to agree with them. He always made sure to wear a clean suit and tie to work, believing that a man who is well thought of by the public will always have the upper hand. And Aldrich Leavenworth relished in having the upper hand.

Nodding politely to the guard outside the door, Aldrich walked into the prison and headed to his office. The Warden's office to be exact. Sitting down in his chair, he stretched and sighed, relaxing for another day of overseeing inmates.

~~~
"Sir! A fight broke out in the rec room!"

The guard gasped out the words, leaning against the doorframe with one hand on his chest. Aldrich stood calmly and smoothed down his suit coat, striding forward to stand in front of the man. "Lead the way."

Staggering, the man turned and went back down the hall, desperately catching his breath. Down halls and through doors to the balcony from which he could overlook the large rec room where the inmates were all causing a fracas, cheering and yelling and avoiding a body pileup of groaning men. Aldrich let his eyes wander over the crowd, passing over a blue-haired loner that shied from the press of humanity and tousling thugs, until he found the source of the problem.

It was that boy. The one with curly chocolate brown hair, dark eyes, small hands, and a gentleness that radiated out of him with every movement he made. "You." The guard that had led the way snapped to attention. "I want you to write down that this event was isolated to the four on the floor. They beat each other and no one else was involved."

The guard looked surprised. "B-But sir! That boy was the one who-"

"I didn't ask." Keeping his eyes trained on the boy, he said, "That child won't be held accountable for anything. His record will stay clear."

"Um... Y-Yes sir. Will there be anything else?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact." Aldrich straightened his tie and turned to head back to his office. "Bring that boy to my office once this is quieted."

"Yes sir."

~~~
Aldrich watched the boy from the camera screens, making sure he was never out of sight. The people seemed reluctant to quiet down, but he didn't seem in any danger of getting hurt. They seemed to be... Protecting him. Aldrich couldn't claim to be confused by this. After all, if he were a prisoner instead of The Warden he would be keeping the small inmate away from any harm too.

Eventually the noise was quelled and the boy pulled from the crowd. That blue haired man from earlier tried to get to the boy, shouting something and waving his arms, but he was ignored by the guards and the boy was already close enough to the doors that the older man couldn't reach him.

Licking his lips, Aldrich sat up straight in his chair and swiveled it towards the door right when it opened. He was beautiful. Soft-looking curls, kind expression, big eyes, the boy was the picture of delicate and precious. He looked up at Aldrich with such wide-eyed innocence.

"Hello there," Aldrich purred. "I heard you got in a fight today."

"I-I-I didn't mean to sir! It just h-happened. They were gunna..." The child started to hyperventilate, tears pooling in his eyes. Resisting the urge to reach out and touch him, Aldrich did his best to quiet the boy.

"It's alright, it's alright. You don't have to talk about it. Now, can you tell me your name?"

"M-Morty. My name is Morty."

How adorable. The Warden couldn't wait to get his hands on little Morty. But, impatient or not, he knew that a certain amount of finesse was required for these kinds of things. Motioning Morty closer, Aldrich said, "You're not in any trouble, Morty. I made sure of that."

"Y-You did?"

"Of course." Reaching out, he placed a hand on Morty's head with a small shudder of pleasure. He really did have soft hair. "You're a sweet boy, aren't you? I'm sure you didn't mean to cause any trouble."

Morty shook his head. "I didn't!"

"Then it's all right." Aldrich sat back in his chair and turned it back around, feeling pleased when Morty moved to stand next to him, just in sight. The little boy got up on his tiptoes to look at the monitors where the prison's interior and exterior were shown.

"Oh geez. That's a lot of p-people!"

"It is. And I have to keep all of them in line. It's my job to make sure they don't break any more laws."

"Wow..." Morty watched for a minute, enthralled. Then he started to cast wondering glances at the large, black leather chair that Aldrich sat in.

Aldrich stood up and stepped to the side, motioning towards the chair with a small flourish. "Do you want to sit in my chair?"

"Yes! Yes!" Morty ran forward eagerly and climbed in, sitting down and swinging his legs. He laughed happily, his small hands on the armrests. "I'm big and scary, 'cause I'm the boss! Hahaha!"

Sternly telling himself to not go too far, Aldrich gently took the boy under the arms and lifted him up, sitting back down and putting Morty on his lap. "I've still got work to do, but you can sit here if you want."

Morty made a small hum of agreement and Aldrich wrapped one arm around the boy's small frame. He could feel Morty's heart beating in his chest, such a gentle flutter.

Mouth watering, Aldrich pushed his need down and went back to filling out some paperwork. Make him trust you first, he reminded himself. Then you can do whatever you want.

~~~
Many hours later, Morty was sleeping peacefully, tucked up in Aldrich's lap. From the monitors, Aldrich could see that blue haired man, the one he now remembered that Morty had arrived with, was borderline panicking. Shaking his cellmates and yelling at them, dismantling and destroying the top half of his bunk bed, throwing himself against the cell doors. Glancing down at the sleeping child in his arms, he didn't consider the man's actions over the top.

Morty shifted a bit and muttered something quietly, hands balling into little fists. Carefully leaning back in his chair so as not to wake Morty, Aldrich looked at the trusting little thing that curled against him. Gently, he ran a hand through Morty's hair, careful not to tug the curls. He went lower, brushing Morty's cheek, pausing on his chest to feel his heartbeat, down to his stomach.

Aldrich pulled his hand away for fear of waking the child. Morty muttered again, tucking his legs closer to his body. Running one finger down Morty's leg, Aldrich could tell he'd be a long-legged man when he grew up. Even if he didn't exactly turn into a tall person, most of his height would be from his legs. How precious.

Gathering Morty carefully into his arms, Aldrich carried him bridal style to the door of his office. He managed to get it open and stepped out, walking down the hall until he came to some of the guards that routinely patrolled the area.

"Take this boy back to his cell please," he said quietly. He didn't miss the look that passed between the two men. No doubt they were wondering what The Warden was doing with a sleeping child prisoner, but he didn't care what they thought. They were barely middle class, so even if they did figure out what he had planned for little Morty, it didn't matter. No one would listen to the accusations of someone who was almost a less than.

They took Morty from his arms and Aldrich turned sharply on his heel, heading back to his office to straighten up a few more papers before heading back home.