To Serve and Protect II
A Change of Venue
By:
BJ Williams
(© 2013-2014 by the author)
Edited by: Gerry Young
The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's
consent. Comments are appreciated at...
Introduction of the Characters
Andrew Butler, 35, and life partner with…
Michael Brady, 35, and Andy’s Neanderthal man.
David, age 20 is Michael’s biological son from a past adventure when he was 13 and a foster child at the girl’s parent’s house.
Thomas Sullivan, 52, is life partner to…
Dr. Aaron Smyth, 49, head of the Medical Center of Vermont
Shane and Adam Sullivan-Smyth, age 18, are identical twins that Thomas and Aaron adopted because they were orphaned.
Jonathon Davis-Butler, 20, son of Billy Davis and adopted son of Andy Butler
James Peterson, 33, Michael’s current boyfriend
Theodore (Teddy) Vandercamp, 35, Andy’s neighbor and pretending boyfriend
Chapter 8
Michael paced the waiting room at Baystate Medical Center, while Aaron worked on Andy. Thom had held back his report on the incident until further facts were known about Andy’s condition. If anything, he’d write it up as an accident, Andy had fallen and needed medical attention. Michael was still pacing the floor when Aaron came out to address him.
“Michael, Andy’s going to be fine. He’s got a concussion and stitches to close the cut on his scalp.”
Aaron grew quiet for a long moment, debating if he should or shouldn’t get involved further. He loved both Michael and Andy — they’d friends for years — so he decided to take it further.
“I understand from Thom that you did this to him?” Michael slowly nodded his head in shame. “I can imagine right now that remorse and self-hatred are among the several feelings that you are experiencing,” again, Michael could only nod his head. “We have a very good program here on anger management. It takes in everything in the anger spectrum that sets people off, including jealousy. I know, I’ve taken it myself,” he said and Michael turned his eyes quickly to Aaron’s.
“You… but you’re the calmest man I know.”
“I’m the worse kind anger, because I seethe and when I reach a point where my jealousy controls me — and not the other way around — I’m capable of murder. Yes, Thom knows all about my jealousy and the class I took. He’s a very warm and caring man as well as handsome, and he attracts other men to him, as well as women, which made me insanely jealous. But my point is, I recognized the fact that I had a problem and got help before I did something that I regretted. You need to come to terms with your jealousy, Michael, like I did. I knew that Thom loved me, and no matter how many men came and went in his life, he only had room in his heart for me. Michael, Andy may have left you, but when that boy did, he did not throw away his love for you, he hid it deep inside his soul.”
“But I…”
“It won’t matter to Andy, because his love for you is strong enough to not only forgive you, but to stand beside you while you come to terms with anger and jealousy.”
“Thank you, Aaron. I don’t deserve his love or your friendship, but I will do whatever it takes to keep it strong for me.”
“I know you will, so here is the pamphlet on the class. It meets several times a week and once on weekends, so I’m sure that you can find a time suited to your needs,” he handed him the literature that he had pulled from his lab coat. “Now, come with me and I’ll take you to see Andy.”
“I’d better not, Aaron; right now I can imagine that I’m the last person that he’ll want to see.”
“He’s been asking for you. Now come along before he begins to think something tragic happened to you.”
Michael nodded and followed Aaron back to where Andy lay upon a bed. Michael gasped when he saw the discoloration around Andy’s swollen eyes, and the bandages over his nose.
“Michael…” Andy said and held out his arms to him.
“Sweetheart… oh, God, I’m so sorry,” he cried, resting his head on Andy’s chest.
Andy’s hand came up and rested softly on Michael’s head. His fingers threading through the soft curly locks as he gently stroked his hair.
“I know you’re sorry, but so am I, Michael. I said some awful things that were not true, honey. The biggest lie I told you is about Teddy and me. We…”
“Shhhhhh, Teddy already told me about your fake engagement. In fact, he gave me quite the ass chewing, as did Thom. Why didn’t you tell me in Vermont that you were still in love with me?”
“You weren’t ready to believe in me, Michael, because you still thought I slept with Billy. I hope you can believe me now, because there never was a man who could hold my heart and soul, not even Billy.”
“I don’t deserve your love, Andy; I never did. But I do believe you, and somewhere deep inside me, I think I always did. I promised Thom and Aaron, and now I promise you, that I’ll get help for my jealousy, I will.”
“I need to ask you one more thing, and really think before you answer me, Michael.”
“I promise.”
“Will you marry me, and make an honest man of me again?”
“I don’t need to think about that, because I wasted ten long years because of my insane jealousy and not having you in my life. Andy, I don’t want another day to go by without you.”
“So, is that a yes?” Andy asked and Michael nodded. “Dry your eyes babe; you know how much it crushes me to see you crying.”
“I know, but I can’t help it, I feel so awful for what I did.”
“I know you do… but remember what you told me years ago, you have a rep to protect.” Michael nodded and wiped his eyes with the back of his hands.
“There now, there’s the happy couple, Thom and I both love,” Aaron said as he re-entered the room. “I have your release papers here and a prescription for a pain medication. I know you won’t stay, but I really would like an overnight to observe you.”
“I’ll watch him, Aaron, believe me, I won’t stray from his side. Just write down what I should watch for.”
“The only thing I would suggest that you watch for is if he falls asleep and you can’t wake him. Don’t let him sleep more that a couple of hours at a time without waking him. If he won’t wake up, then call for an ambulance immediately. You’ll have a headache for a day or so, but other than that, you’re good to go,” he said and handed Michael, Andy’s discharge papers.
“Oh God, Michael … what are you going to do about, James?”
“James, who?” he asked with a smile.
“You know, James, who … your lover, what are you going to tell him?”
“I’ll tell him the truth, Andy, that I’m still in love with you and that I never loved him. He was a good fuck, but other than that, he irritated the piss out of me with his whining and habits.”
“That’s awful, I hope you never told your other conquests that about me,” Andy said giving him a slight jab to the gut.
“Never,” he said and then grew quiet. “Andy?” he said.
“Yes?”
“You want to hear a secret of mine?” Andy nodded. “Whenever I fucked a guy, I compared him to you, and you know what?”
“What, babe?”
“Not a single one of them could ever satisfy me like you did. I think it was because when I had sex with them, I was fucking them, but with you, I made love to you.”
“And I put all of my heart and soul into making love with you, Michael. Maybe that’s why they disappointed you so, because I deeply loved you and you, me.”
“Ah… Andy?”
“Yes?”
“Did you mean it, you know, about re-marrying me?”
“No, I was just teasing you, I want to marry Teddy,” he said and Michael’s face showed the hurt that the words caused him. “Of course I meant it, my egotistical Neanderthal. You and I, we were destined for each other, and besides, my horoscope yesterday said that if I were to embrace a past love, a new and stronger love would rise from the ashes … or something to that affect,” he shared.
“Really? You and I can get married again?” Andy nodded with a smile so wide that it hurt him. “When? How about this week?” he asked.
“I’d like that very much.”
“Want to know another secret?” Andy again nodded. “Ever since you left me, I have not shared our bed with another man. When I had sex with them, it was either at their place or in the guest room, but never has another man replaced you in our bed.”
Now it was Andy’s turn to cry, as he turned and faced Michael. He had his arms around Michael’s waist and his teary eyes looked up at him.
“It’s the same for me at the lake house; I never had another man in the bed that we shared together. I was very angry when I left you, Michael, but the one thing I was not, I never fell out of love with you. We both said and did things back then that hurt us both and destroyed our marriage. I knew that Billy loved me, but did nothing to discourage him other than show him my love for you. I think I let him believe that he had a chance, because I wanted him to know how I felt years before when I was in love with him and he’d not shown me his love.”
“Well that’s all in the past, babe, he’s dead and we’re together as it always should have been,” he said and then shot Andy that roguish grin.
“What are you up to; I know that grin, Michael.”
“I was just thinking of all the sex we are going to have, as we make up for the past ten years that we missed together.”
Again, Andy jabbed him in the arm, but then, he stood up on his toes and kissed him.
“I love you so much, Michael Brady,” Andy whispered against Michael’s ear.
“I love you more, Andrew Butler-Brady.”
They kissed.
* * *
Michael and James had a horrendous fight over the phone, because of their breakup. Andy had asked that he do it in person, but with James away and their up-coming wedding, he chose to do it over the phone.
“You’ll see, Michael, he’ll fuck the next pretty face that comes along and then deny it to your face and hurt you all over again,” James had said to him.
“Not my baby boy; he’s as true to me as the sun is to the day and the moon to the night, James. I’m sorry that we didn’t work out, but you are way to high maintenance for me.”
“Wait and see, Michael Brady, you’ll regret this day,” James threatened and then slammed his cell phone closed.
“That went well…” he said as he placed his cell into this pant’s pocket and went off to find Andy.
Michael moved Andy’s things into their bedroom and spent the rest of the day in bed together. Although, Michael had wanted sex, he knew it was better to wait a day or so for Andy to be himself again.
* * *
Michael and Andy were sitting on the patio having breakfast with Teddy when Jonathon, came out to join them. He stood at Andy’s side with his back to Michael as he looked down at his dad.
“I’m going home to Vermont today, my plane leaves in two hours,” he announced dryly.
Andy felt an edge of bitterness in his voice, and he questioned it.
“What’s wrong, Jonathon, you sound almost bitter?” he asked.
“He’s, what’s wrong,” he turned to Michael, who had a scowl on his face. “I can’t believe that you still stay with him, after what he did to you, Dad. You know he’ll just do again sometime down the road when he gets into one of his jealous fits.”
“Jonathon, I am taking anger management classes at the hospital,” Michael said as he tried to assure Jonathon that he would not do it again.
“Yeah … It’s all a rue; you’ll beat him again … it’s all part of who you are. The macho Michael Brady who, in anger, lunges out without thinking,” he yelled. “Well, it doesn’t matter now, Dad; you made your choice and I’m going home to Vermont.”
“If I can forgive him and believe him to change, then you should also, son … after all, I forgave you.”
“What I did was out of love for you, damn it, you know that as well as I do.”
“Did what?” Michael asked, although he had a general idea as to what happened.
“We made love together,” Jonathon said as he turned so quickly to Michael, that Michael rose from his chair, ready to protect himself. “I’m in love with him; I have always been in love with him. But no, he only sees me as his son, not a man who could and would love him better than you ever would.”
“Jonathon, you and I never made love; we had sex because you forced yourself onto me.”
“I did not see you fighting me off?” he countered.
“I was in shock and then appalled by what was happening.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter anyhow, I’m going home and I’ll find myself an apartment in Burlington as soon as I can,” he said and left as abruptly as he had arrived.
“Andy…” Michael said as he reached up and grabbed his arm.
“Please don’t, I know I hurt him by rejecting his love for me, but I had to, Michael; he’s my son, not a man that I could ever love as I do you,” he said. “Besides, he knew right along that I had hopes of winning you back again,” he shared as tears began to roll from his eyes.
“I…” the phone rang, interrupting what he was about to say to Andy.
“Don’t answer it. I have a bad feeling about it, Michael.” Andy warned.
“Hello,” Michael said, disregarding Andy.
“I see that all’s well in paradise with you two,” the disguised voice said.
“Stop being a chicken shit and tell me who you are,” Michael insisted.
“Well enjoy your brief romance, because death is soon to visit your little paradise … again.”
“Are you threatening me?” he shouted.
“I struck once ten years ago, and I promise you that I’ll strike again, movie or not,” he said and then hung up.
“You fucker,” Michael was furious as he redialed the number that had shown on his phone.
“Yeah?” a man’s gruff voice asked.
“Who is this?” Michael asked.
“What the fuck do you care, mister, you called a damn pay phone,” he told him.
“Did you happen to see a man in the booth a second ago?”
“Yeah… a real looker he was. But he’s gone now. Why, is he a boyfriend of yours?”
“No, he’s been placing threatening phone calls from this payphone to me, and I need to catch him. I’m a police officer,” he assured the man. “If I were to have you come down to the police station, do you think you could identify him?”
“Sure… I guess I could, but what’s in it for me?” he asked.
“What’s in it for you is that you’d be preventing a murder,” Michael told him.
“Hey man, I don’t want any part of a murder,” he said and hung up.
“Damn it,” he said and flung his cell phone across the patio and into the pool.
“Well that was smart,” Andy said standing and inched back from him.
Michael knew why Andy was backing away from him, he was afraid that he would strike out in anger and hurt him again.
“Please don’t do that, Andy; I gave you my promise.”
“I’m sorry, but when you get this angry … it scares me. I’ll get past it once I see your temper under control,” he assured him and moved back to where he’d been seated. “What did he say, Michael, because you went pale from whatever it was he said.
“Nothing, I’ll handle it,” he told him.
“Alright, let’s get this out and over with, buster. Unless you want a second divorce mister, of which I’m sure you don’t, you had better begin being honest and open with me about this caller shit.”
“He threatened us with death, Andy, he said that death was about to visit us, again.”
“Then what did whoever it was that answered the phone, say?”
“He saw who had made the call but once he heard that coming forth could prevent a murder, he hung up.”
“Call Thom, he can send a car or go himself to where the call came from,” Andy suggested. “Maybe the man is still hanging around the area.”
“And I tell Thom what? Go pick up some man who answered the pay phone? Andy, he’ll need a description of the man in order to pick him up,” he told him.
“Right… I forgot that minor point.”
“Minor point?” he laughed. “He can identify the caller and with the man in custody, he can be booked for Billy’s murder.”
“How are you going to prove that this mystery caller murdered Billy, when the coroner and the fire marshal attributed his death to him?”
“I can’t … but I will,” he said quietly.
* * *
“Well?” he asked when his partner came into their apartment. “Did you call him?”
“Oh yeah, and he’s running scared. I told him that death was about to revisit him and he went crazy,” the caller said laughing.
“Remember, you promised that no harm would come to Andy,” he reminded him.
“Well, the rules have changed and all bets are off,” he said with an evil glint in his eyes. “I told you before, Andy is mine; now leave me alone.”
Once he left and he began pacing frantically around the small efficiency apartment. He paused and punched in the numbers to Michael’s phone and waited for him to pick up.
“We’re sorry, but the number you have dialed is not in service at this time. Please recheck your number and try again later,” the recording said when the call went directly to Michael’s voice mail.
“Fuck!” he cursed and closed his phone.
He continued his pacing, scratching his head as he thought about an alternative to killing Michael. He knew that his… well he had wanted Michael out of the way, and what better way to remove him from the picture than to send his ass to prison for life, insuring that he could have Michael. After all, it was Michael, who was supposed to have died in the fire ten years ago.
Outside the apartment, he watched and when he saw his partner leave the apartment, he entered once he was sure he had gone. He pulled out his cell phone and punched in another number, after he first punched in *67 to prevent his number from showing.
“Hello?” Andy’s voice said.
“If you want to deter death’s visit, you need to find death himself and take him out,” he said, using the same device to disguise his voice.
“Who is this? I do not like to be threatened,” Andy told him.
“I’m serious; if one of you doesn’t wish to end up dead, you have best get busy revisiting the facts,” he said and hung up.
“I’m tired of being used as your pawn, Andy is mine, not yours,” he bitterly said. “You never loved me but just your precious Andy. He is all that ever mattered to you.”
“What did he say, Andy?” Michael anxiously asked, once Andy closed his phone.
“He told me that if I want to prevent death from visiting us, I need to revisit the facts and find where he lives and take him out,” he told Michael. “But what I want to know more is how did he get my cell phone number?”
“Then it has to be someone you know and gave your number to, Andy,” Michael reasoned. “Think Andy, who have you given your number to?”
“Just family and a few friends, but they all live in Vermont, Michael.”
“Then our killer is either someone who followed you to Vermont or,” he paused and looked directly at Andy and said, “Or else he knew you or us there from our stays at the lake house.”
“We kept pretty private whenever we went to the lake house, Michael. The only person that we ever saw was…”
“Teddy,” they said together.
“I refuse to believe that he’s behind all this, Michael. He can’t be, he loves me and what man that would want me dead, would make love to me as he...”
“Then it’s not you that he wants dead, it’s…”
“You,” he finished. Oh God, Michael, it can’t be him, I’ve had this number ever since our… well, for ten years now.”
“When did you give it to him?”
“I gave it to him about a year after I moved to Vermont. He’d just moved in to the house just down from ours. He’d come to use my phone, saying how he had inadvertently packed his cell so he was without a phone. I gave him my number in case he ever needed to contact me.”
The phone rang again, this time it was Michael’s house phone, and they both ran into the house.
“What!” he screamed into the phone.
“Michael Brady,” a woman’s voice asked.
“Yeah … sorry about the rudeness but you have no idea how badly my day has gone,” he apologetically said.
“This is Brenda Star, Caleb Jones’ secretary,” she said.
“Right … I remember you, Brenda. What can I do for you?”
“I was calling to remind you that filming begins tomorrow evening at ten p.m., sharp at Five Mile Pond.”
“Fuck … ah sorry, I totally forgot about that. I’ll be there at ten sharp,” he assured her.
“We actually need you by eight p.m., because there is make-up to do as well as any revisions to the script to go over.”
“That’s fine, I’ll be there by eight, then.”
She hung up.
“Oh shit babe, I forgot also about the filming, tomorrow,” Andy said, having leaned close to the phone to listen as Brenda talked.
“So did I, but I’m glad that it’s me they need and that you won’t be there.”
“What do you mean … I won’t be there? I told you that whether it’s you or me in a shot, I want us both there.”
“True, but have you had a chance to read the scene in the screenplay?”
“Not really, because I’m not in it, you are,” he told him. “Once I know which scene that I’ll be in, then I’ll read and memorize my part,” he said.
“Here … take a look at the scene,” he said and once he had found it in the script, he handed it to Andy.
He watched as Andy’s eyes read each word … each scenario that was described.
“My God, Michael, you and the man playing my dad are having sex together in this scene,” he said and dropped the book to the table as if it had burned him.
“Exactly,” he said, taking the script back.
“And you can actually do that in front of God knows how many people?”
“Sure … I love to be watched … it’s a fucking turn on, babe, to have strangers getting aroused as you fuck someone. But the real question is … can you?” he asked.
”What do you mean, can I?” he asked. “My God … I’m re-marrying a pervert,” Andy said with shock on his face, and then it hit him. “You never told me that this was a … a porn”
“I didn’t? I’m sure that somewhere along the line I mentioned that it was Falcon Studios that was filming it?” he said sheepishly.
“And I’m suppose to know who Falcon Studios is?” he asked. “I’m not doing porn … no way Michael … I won’t do it and neither are you, and that’s final,” he said standing and ranting.
“Just think of it this way, babe … all those hotties out there that will see us fucking our brains out, how excited they’ll be, wishing that they were you and me,” he tried to reason with Andy.
“You are really getting off on all this, aren’t you?” Michael nodded with that roguish grin on his face. “I just thought of something else,” he said as he grabbed the screenplay from Michael and began flipping from page to page until he found the one that he was looking for. “I thought so, they are including several sex scenes when you were a hustler, Michael,” he pointed out.
“Yeah … that’s not a problem for me, so why is for you?”
“Because of these two scenes here,” he thrust the book across to Michael, his finger pointing to the wording of the scenes. “They have you performing sex with two men in the first scene and at a sex orgy in the other,” he shouted.
“Hot!” he said with his customary smirk.
“Nope … sorry but I’m out and so are you,” he adamantly stated as he got up and exited to the patio.
“Come on babe, it’s not like I’m in love with these guys, they’re just actors,” he said following quickly behind him.
“Right, male actors that do porn for a living,” he shouted as he turned to him. “Sorry, but I am not doing it and neither are you, end of discussion,” he stood fast with his back to Michael.
“I hate to tell you this, but you already signed the contract and accepted the money, babe. We both did and that commits us or else we can be sued.”
“Then sue me, see if I care.”
“Just think about that, your name — our names — dragged through the mud in a public courtroom. Is that what you really want, Andy?”
“You forget, I don’t live here, you do. I still live in Vermont, sunshine,” Andy replied.
“Come on babe, think how thrilling it’ll be, making love together and getting paid for it.”
“You are really sick, Michael. You do get off on this voyeur stuff, don’t you?” he asked and Michael nodded. “Yes, you are the only one that I get to have sex with, while you get to fuck the entire universe,” he told him. “If you want us to do this, well fine, but I’m making an amendment to the film,” he told him. “I want to put in the time that Thom and I got it on before I met you,” he said, which changed Michael’s expression. “And I also want to choose who plays Thom,” he added.
“What? Are you insane Andy, Thom wouldn’t want that shared about him. Think of his job, Aaron and their sons?”
“Are you thinking about David’s feelings, no, you are only thinking with that head at the end of your dick,” Andy told him, inches from his face.
“You are so fucking hot when you get your dander up like this, babe, let’s go practice our love scenes,” he suggested.
Andy turned away in frustration, his hand flying up as he walked away.
“Porn! My husband wants to make us porn stars,” he murmured as he walked back into the house with Michael pawing him as he walked.
* * *
The next evening, they were at the pond by eight sharp. Andy had refused to stay home. In fact, he was still in a disagreeable mood when they arrived. While the man that was to do Michael’s costume and makeup took Michael, Andy went looking for the director.
“Where can I find Max,” Andy asked.
“He’s over in the bus,” he said, referring to the luxury coach they used for the stars of the movie.
Andy stormed over to the bus, which was where Michael had been taken to prepare him for his scene. He pulled the door opened and climbed the four steps.
“Excuse me, but where is Max,” he asked the two men who were lounging on the sofa, kissing.
“He’s back there with the two guys doing today’s scene,” one said when he finally broke away from the guy he was kissing.
“Max … I need to see you,” Andy said as he stepped through the door to where they were getting prepared for the scene.
When everyone turned to face him, he froze when he saw a naked James, who was standing beside Michael, as he undressed. Andy lunged at Michael, “What is he doing here?” he asked as he pushed Michael up against a wall.
“Ah … I forgot that he had agreed to do the movie as well?” he murmured.
“You told me that he was a model, not a porn star,” Andy argued.
“Well, aren’t they one in the same, babe?”
“Don’t you even dare to call me babe, Michael Brady,” he said and marched off to talk to the director.
“A bit of trouble in paradise, Michael?” James asked, as he came up beside him. “Your ex-husband doesn’t look too happy,” he added.
“Just go away, James, Andy’s fine, he’s just a bit upset to see you, is all,” he lied.
“Is it that, or is he upset that you and I will be fucking?” he asked with a smirk on his face.
He walked away, satisfied that his presence there on the set had upset Andy.
To be continued…
Posted: 04/11/14